M  1  IK'AWV 

i  in 


University  of  California. 


<  VI  1-1     OK 


^&^<OSlJL        Ul  1st,  trt  SL^cJ^f 

Received        (@<yr< 
.  Accessions  .V.  i  S3  /  /  3  CIass  v' '  • 


The  Psychology  of  Childhood, 


BY 


FKEDERICK   TRACY,    B.  A., 

Fellow  in  Psychology  in  Clark  University,  Worcester,  Mass.;    Formerly 
Fellow  in  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Toronto. 


Approved  as  a  thesis  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  Clare  University. 

G.  STANLEY   HALL, 
President  and  Professor  of  Psychology. 


BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. : 
D.  C.  HEATH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS. 

1893. 


•T3//5 


% 


% 


INTRODUCTION". 


The  author  has  here  undertaken  to  present  as  concisely, 
yet  as  completely,  as  possible,  the  results  of  the  systematic 
study  of  children  up  to  date,  and  has  included  everything  of 
importance  that  could  be  found.  This  work  was  greatly 
needed,  and  has  been  done  with  a  thoroughness  which  all 
interested  in  the  subject  will  gratefully  recognize.  Most 
observations  have  been  limited  to  one  or  more  aspects  of  the 
vast,  many-sided  topic.  As  we  are  now  able  to  catch  a 
glimpse  for  the  first  time  of  the  entire  field,  we  realize  the 
importance  of  results  already  achieved,  and  the  yet  greater 
promise  of  the  future.  The  questions  here  treated  are 
fundamental  for  both  psychology  and  pedagogy,  for  the  more 
fundamental  the  traits,  the  earlier  they  unfold.  Yet  it 
should  be  remembered  that  the  data  for  infant  study  are 
relatively  more  complete  than  are  the  records  of  children 
of  school  aj^  The  latter,  when  they  are  fully  presented,  may 
be  more  ^rctical,  but  the  former  are  more  fundamental  for 
philosoDny  and  ethics. 

It  flnnost  auspicious  fact  for  philosophy  and  for  educa- 
tion, ffat  both  are  coming  to  be  based  more  and  more  upon 
the  eternal  and  natural  foundation  of  sympathetic  observation 
of  childhood,  and  that  the  same  season  that  witnessed  the 
completion  of  this  memoir  has  witnessed  the  formation  of  a 
national  society  for  child  study,  inaugurated  by  a  success- 
ful three  days'  congress. 

This  dissertation  is  far  more  than  a  compilation.  It  brings 
important  additions  to  our  knowledge  upon  some  of  the  most 
important  topics.  This  is  perhaps  most  important  in  the 
case  of  the  chapter  on  language,  almost  a  monograph  in 
itself,  and  which  will  interest  philologists  as  well  as  psychol- 
ogists and  teachers. 

G.  STANLEY  HALL. 

Clark  University,  September,  1893. 


'X^     on  the 

[UHIVEHS 

PRELIMINARY. 


The  comparative  method  of  study  has  commended  itself  to  all  the 
sciences  in  modern  times  by  its  fertility  in  results,  and  is  now  being 
employed  extensively  in  two  principal  directions :  viz.,  the  analogical 
and  the  genetical.  The  philologist,  for  example,  compares  his  own 
language,  on  the  one  hand  with  other  languages  (in  the  search  for 
analogies),  and  on  the  other  avails  himself  of  all  manuscripts,  inscrip- 
tions, etc.,  which  show  him  his  language  in  its  earliest  stages,  and  help 
him  to  determine  by  the  operation  of  what  causes,  and  according  to 
what  laws,  it  has  developed  from  its  original  crude  and  inefficient  state 
to  its  present  polished  and  complicated  condition.  And  similarly  with 
other  sciences.  In  the  case  of  psychology  the  application  of  the  com- 
parative method  has  led  the  investigator  to  the  observation  of  mental 
manifestations  in  the  lower  animals;  in  human  beings  of  morbid  or 
defective  mental  life,  such  as  the  insane,  the  idiotic,  the  blind,  deaf  and 
dumb;  in  peoples  of  different  types  of  culture,  ancient  and  modern, 
savage  and  civilized ;  and  finally  to  the  study  of  mental  phenomena  in 
their  genesis  and  early  development  in  the  life  of  the  child.  If  the  child 
is  only  the  adult  in  miniature,  and  if  society  is  only  the  individual  "  writ 
large,'"  then  in  studying  the  infant  mind  we  are  approaching  a  vantage 
ground  from  which  we  may  catch  a  prophetic  view,  not  only  of  psy- 
chological, but  also  of  sociological  phenomena. 

When  we  compare  the  young  child  with  the  young  animal,  we  cannot 
fail  to  be  struck  by  the  apparent  superiority  of  the  latter  over  the 
former,  at  the  beginning  of  life.  The  human  infant,  for  example,  re- 
quires weeks  to  attain  the  power  of  holding  his  head  in  equilibrium, 
while  the  young  chicken  runs  about  and  picks  up  grains  of  wheat  before 
the  first  day  of  his  life  is  over.  This,  however,  carefully  considered,  is 
a  token  rather  of  the  superiority  than  the  inferiority  of  the  human  being. 
The  higher  you  ascend  in  the  scale  of  being,  the  more  varied  and  com- 
plex is  the  environment  in  which  the  individual  moves,  and  to  which  he 
must  adapt  his  movements.  This  adaptation  requires,  on  the  physio- 
logical side,  a  cerebral  and  nervous  development,  and  on  the  psychic 
side  a  mental  growth,  for  which  time  is  an  absolute  necessity.  Animals 
go  on  all  their  lives,  doing  the  same  simple  things,  which  require  a 
minimum  of  mental  activity,  and  which,  by  dint  of  constant  repetition, 
produce  physiological  adjustments  that  become  at  length  hereditary; 
so  that  phenomena  which  seem  to  the  casual  observer  the  index  of  an 
astonishing  degree  of  mental  advancement — such  as  the  "  scampering  " 
of  the  young  chicks  on  a  certain  peculiar  call  of  the  mother — are  really 
at  bottom  little  more  than  the  response  of  an  organism,  adjusted  by 
heredity,  to  the  action  of  an  external  stimulus. 

The  longer  and  more  arduous  the  journey,  the  more  time  is  required 
for  preparation ;  the  more  complicated  the  art  to  be  acquired,  the  more 
extended  is  the  period  of  apprenticeship.  So  the  child,  having  an  in- 
finitely grander  life  before  him,  and  infinitely  more  exalted,  complicated 
and  difficult  operations  to  perform — mental,  moral  and  physical — requires 
a  longer  period  of  tutelage  than  the  chicken,  which  on  the  first  day  of 
his  life  scratches  and  pecks,  and  to  the  end  of  his  existence  makes  no 


6  THE    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    CHILDHOOD. 

advance  upon  these  simple  operations.  The  young  animal,  before  the 
end  of  the  first  day  of  his  life,  does  what  it  takes  the  child  a  year  to 
accomplish  ;  but  the  child  of  two  years  does  what  the  animal  never  will 
accomplish  to  the  end  of  his  days.1 

The  object  of  the  present  essay  is  to  discuss  infant  psychology.  When 
and  how  do  mental  phenomena  take  their  rise  in  the  infant  conscious- 
ness? How  far  are  they  conditioned  by  heredity,  and  how  far  by 
education,  including  suggestion?  What  is  the  nature  of  the  process  by 
which  the  automatic  and  mechanical  pass  over  into  the  conscious  and 
voluntary?  These  are  some  of  the  questions  to  which  the  following 
pages  may  help  to  furnish  an  answer.  That  they  may  do  so,  it  has 
been  thought  best  to  gather  together,  so  far  as  possible,  the  best  work 
that  has  been  done  in  actual  observation  of  children  up  to  the  present 
time,  arrange  this  under  appropriate  headings,  incorporate  the  results 
of  several  observations  made  by  the  writer  himself,  and  present  the 
whole  in  epitomized  form,  with  copious  references  and  quotations.  The 
inquiry  proceeds  along  the  line  usually  followed  by  psychologists,  and 
treats  the  mental  endowment,  from  the  genetic  point  of  view,  in  the 
following  order:  Sensation,  emotion,  intellection,  volition;  child- 
language,  on  account  of  its  paramount  importance,  being  treated  in  a 
chapter  by  itself.  It  was  intended  at  first  to  add  a  chapter  on  the  moral 
nature  of  the  child,  but  as  the  work  progressed,  it  became  more  and 
more  evident  that,  to  treat  this  important  phase  of  child-life  adequately, 
would  require  not  only  more  space  than  is  at  our  disposal  at  present, 
but  an  advauce  into  later  stages  of  life  than  are  embraced  in  the  present 
work,  which  is  intended  only  as  a  manual  of  infant  psychology  in  an 
approximately  strict  sense  of  the  words. 

I  cannot  forbear  calling  attention  in  this  place  to  one  great  general 
principle,  which  is  so  constantly  illustrated  in  the  child's  meutal  life 
that  it  may  be  considered  universal.  It  might  be  appropriately  named 
the  principle  of  transformation,  and  explained  as  follows :  CEvery 
mental  phenomenon  passes  through  a  graduated  ascending  series  of 
development.  At  first,  the  physiological  predominates,  conscious 
is  at  a  minimum,  and  the  so-called  mental  phenomenon  would  be  more 
accurately  defined  as  the  reaction  of  the  nervous  system  to  external 
stimuli  or  to  organic  conditions.  For  example,  the  child  cries  at  inter- 
vals from  the  moment  of  his  birth,  but  at  first  this  cry  is  independent 
of  his  will,  and  possesses  scarcely  any  mental  significance,  for  ic  is 
made  without  cerebral  cooperation,  and — as  in  the  ease  of  microcephalic 
infants — even  when  the  cerebrum  is  entirely  absent  (  »:«»). a  Later  the 
mental  aspect  becomes  more  prominent.  When  the  intellect  and  will 
have  become  sufficiently  developed,  the  child  directs  his  attention  to 
the  act,  makes  it  his  own  and  performs  it  voluntarily.  The  pro 
perhaps  has  not  changed  at  all,  to  outward  appearance,  but  when 
viewed  on  the  inner  side,  it  is  seen  to  have  been  completely  transformed 
in  character;  and  one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  for  the  psychologist  is 
to  determine  the  when  and  the  how  of  this  transformation. 

The  exact  time  at  which  each  psychic  activity  makes  its  appearao 
is  perhaps  of  less  importance  than  the  order  of  the  various  activities; 
yet  in  order  to  ascertain  the  latter,  the  former  must  bo  carefully  attended 
to.     Hence  both  absolute  and  relative  times  receive  considerable  atten- 
tion in  the  following  pages. 

i"Es  siin-i  ii  f  fin  oaturgesetz  ni  walten,  dasa  das  b5here,  Bedeutende  sirti  la 
entwlckele,  unci  si<-h  durch  die  langsamere  Entwiokalung  sine  lltagere  Dauer  gleTol 
erkaufe."    Sigismund :    "Klndund  Welt,"  p.  it.     See  also  on  this  subject,  Jasti 
"Problems  of  Comparative  Psychology,"      Pop.  8ci.  Mo.,  Nov.,   1898.     it  should  be 
coted  lo  this  connection  that  the  Intra-uterlce  period  is  relatively  much  shorter  in  man 
than  in  most  ni  the  lower  animals.     The  horse,  for  example,  lives  a  much  shorter  life 
than  man,  ami  yel  iiis  preparatory  rostal  stage  is  actually  longer, 

s  The  numbers  In  brackets  are  references  in  tin- hihlioKrapliy  at  Hie  hock,  Ti.<>  first 
Dumber  Is  that  of  the  work  referred  to  in  the  bibliography.     When  a  second  number 

folloWH,  it  is  11  it-fin  lire  to  (lie  pil^t*. 


I71ESITFJ 


CHAPTER  I.— SENSATION. 

It  is  important  to  treat  sensation  first,  because  it  lies  at  the  founda- 
tion of  all  mental  development.  All  the  higher  processes  of  mind  are 
simply  the  result  of  progressive  "  syntheses  of  the  manifold"  as  given 
in  sensation.  Though  we  may  not  agree  with  Lodje,  that  all  ideas  are 
derived  from  sensation,  yet  we  must  agree  that  there  are  no  ideas  in 
the  mind  prior  to  sensation.  And  looking  at  the  active  side  of  our 
nature,  the  intimate  connection  between  the  senses  and  the  will  is 
equally  manifest.  Our  sense-impressions,  produced  by  external  objects 
upon  the  peripheral  organism,  are  conveyed  along  the  afferent  nerves 
to  sensory  centres  closely  connected  with  corresponding  motor  centres 
in  the  cerebral  cortex.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  child's  sense- 
growth. 

Are  any  sensations  felt  in  the  foetal  stage  of  existence?  And  if  so, 
what?  In  answer  to  this  question,  we  may,  first  of  all,  proceed  nega- 
tively and  determine  those  senses  which  obviously  cannot  be  in  opera- 
tion at  this  time.  Any  sense  requiring  as  the  condition  of  its  exercise 
the  medium  of  light  or  air,  cannot  operate  until  the  child  is  born,  for 
prior  to  this  time  he  does  not  come  into  contact  with  these  media.  Op  i 
this  ground  sight,  hearing  and  smell  are  probably  to  be  excluded  :  th> 
first  on  account  of  the  darkness  of  the  uterus,  the  others  because  the 
auditory  and  nasal  passages  are  at  thfs  time  entirely  filled  with  the 
amniotic  liquid,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  air,  even  if  this  were  available. 
There  is  reason  to  believe,  however,  that  from  about  the  middle  of  this 
period  the  foetus  is  susceptible  to  changes  of  temperature  (  4:1-6  ),  and 
that  touch  is  to  some  degree  awakened  by  contact  with  the  surrounding 
matrix  (5:9)<  To  what  extent  these  rudimentary  foetal  sensations  par- 
take of  the  truly  psychic  character  is  very  difficult  to  determine,  owing 
to  scarcity  of  research  in  the  sphere  of  embryonic  brain  physiology. 
Many  psychologists1  are  of  the  opinion  that  they  do  not  at  all  involve 
the  cooperation  of  the  centres  of  sensational  and  motive  ideality. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  certain  that  during  the  later  months  of  pregnane}  \ 
very  great  changes  take  place  in  the  embryonic  brain,  especially  in  th> 
cerebrum.2  If  it  be  allowable  to  conjecture,  it  is  probable  that  the 
"sensations"  of  the  embryo  involve  consciousness,  though  very  dim 
and  vague,  and  that  the  foetal  movements  are  reflex  or  automatic,  taking 
place  in  virtue  of  an  organic  connection  between  feeling  and  movement, 
due  in  large  part  to  heredity. 

I— SIGHT. 

The  Embryonic  Eye. — During  the  earlier  stages  of  the  embryonic 
growth,  the  head  is  much  larger  in  proportion  to  the  other  parts  of  the 
body  than  at  any  subsequent  time;  and  this  is  especially  noticeable  in 
the  anterior  regions,  where  the  primary  vesicle  bulges  out  prominently- 
on  each  side.  These  protruding  portions  gradually  fold  in  upon  them- 
selves to  form  the  nervous  parts  of  the  eye,  such  as  the  retina  and  optic 

lE.  g.,  Wirchow,  j/uoted  by  Perez  ( 6:  4). 
3  Bastian  (6:5)-  9 


$  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

nerve.  Simultaneously  with  this,  the  crystalline  lens  is  developed  by 
the  involution  of  the  epiblast,  and  is  received  into  the  hollow  cup  formed 
by  the  folding  in  of  the  primary  vesicle  spoken  of.  The  remaining 
space  afterwards  becomes  filled  with  the  vitreous  humor  (  8:  M1 ).  "The 
lids  make  their  appearance  gradually  as  folds  of  integument,  subse- 
quently to  the  formation  of  the  globe  in  the  third  month  of  foetal  life. 
When  they  have  met  together  in  front  of  the  eye,  their  edges  become 
closely  glued  together  by  an  epithelial  exudation  which  is  removed  a 
short  time  before  birth  "  (  8:mb). 

We  have  already  remarked  that  no  sensations  of  sight  are  received 
during  the  foetal  period.  If  this  be  true,  the  cause  lies,  not  in  the  im- 
perfection of  the  organ  itself — for  the  experiments  of  K  us  s  maul  (  5:ao  ) 
and  Genzmer  (»:21  )  on  premature  children,  show  that  at  least  two 
months  before  the  normal  birth-time,  the  mechanism  of  the  eye  is  fully 
developed  and  capable  of  reaction  to  appropriate  stimuli — but  in  the 
absence  of  light-impressions.  There  may  even  be  at  this  time  vague 
sensations  of  light,  arising  from  subjective  or  intra-uterine  causes, 
though  if  there  be,  they  can  have  but  little  psychological  importance, 
and  can  by  no  means  account  for  the  actual  functioning  of  the  eye 
immediately  after  birth  (io:«4). 

The  Eye  of  the  New-born.— II,  therefore,  the  statement  is  made  that 
the  new-born  child  is  blind,  it  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  that  he  is  in 
darkness — for  the  peripheral  mechanism  of  the  eye  is  complete  at  birth, 
and  the  difference  between  light  and  darkness  is  felt  from  the  beginning 
— but  only  this,  that  he  cannot  as  yet  see  things,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  terms.  This  is  due  to  lack  of  experience,  to  imperfect  development 
of  the  cerebral  centres,  and  to  the  dazzling  effect  of  the  light,  which 
now  streams  in,  as  Sigismund  says,  with  millions  of  waves,  upon  a 
delicate  organ,  accustomed,  up  to  this  time,  to  complete  darkness  (1: 14).L 
This  latter  obstacle,  however,  is  soon  overcome,  and  the  child's  progress 
in  seeing  takes  place  with  great  rapidity. 

The  sensation  of  light  is  the  first  feeling,  having  an  external  cause, 
which  the  child  experiences  by  means  of  the  eye.  This  organ  is  especially 
adapted,  by  its  peculiar  mechanism  of  retina  and  rods  and  cones,  and  by 
its  nerves  and  muscles  of  convergence,  contraction  and  accommodation, 
to  receive  the  rays  of  light  that  fall  upon  it;  and  hence,  as  soon  as  the 
first  shock  is  over,  and  the  infant  eye  has  become  accustomed  to  its  new 
surroundings,  it  turns  toward  the  light  as  naturally  as  the  opening  petals 
of  a  newly-blown  flower  turn  toward  the  rising  sun.  Or,  as  Locke  has 
said  :  "  Even  as  the  soul  thirsts  for  ideas,  so  the  eye  of  the  child  thirsts 
for  the  light."  This  sensibility  to  light  is  normally  present  in  the  first 
minutes  of  life,  and  is  rarely  delayed  beyond  a  few  hours,  except  in  the 
case  of  some  mal-formation  of  the  organs  (2i5).  At  this  stage,  however, 
the  distinction  of  light  and  darkness  is  felt  rather  than  known ;  and 
even  the  turning  of  the  head  towards  the  light,  which  has  been  observed 
on  the  second  day  of  life  (&),  and  even  as  early  as  the  twentieth  hour 
(ie)2,  must  be  considered  as  nearly  akin  to  the  movement  of  the  plant 
towards  the  light.  But  this  condition  of  things  is  not  of  long  duration. 
To  take  a  single  case  (that  of  Preyer's  boy),  we  are  told  that  he  soon 
began  to  show  signs  of  pleasure  at  a  moderate  light,  pain  at  too  power- 


*K iiKsiiifiul  also  remarks:  "AusgetraRene  Kinder,  welehe  oben  zur  welt  gekoraiueQ 
u u' i  ruhig  geworden  wind,  versm-hcn  Sfter  das  Auge  wlederholt  zu  iiffnen  sind  aber 
immer  wledergezwungenes  ranch  mid  kramphaft  vor  deni  einfalleuden  hellen  Lichte  zu 
schliessen"  (  <>:  20  \ 

2 KiiHHiiimil  cites  the  case  of  a  boy,  who,  though  bom  In  the  seventh  month,  yet 
turned  his  head  towards  the  window  on  the  seconoday  of  his  life. 


SENSATION.  9 

f  ul  a  glare,  and  less  pleasure  in  darkness.  Even  during  the  first  day 
the  expression  of  his  face  changed  when  an  intervening  object  cut  off 
the  light,  and  on  the  eleventh  day  he  would  cry  when  the  light  was 
carried  out  of  the  room.  As  time  passed  on,  he  continually  took  increas- 
ing notice  of  these  sensations,  until  in  his  second  month  the  sight  of  a 
bright  light,  or  a  brightly  colored  object  was  sufficient  to  elicit  from 
him  exclamations  of  delight. 

Too  powerful  a  light  causes  discomfort,  even  in  sleep.  The  child 
knits  his  eyelids  more  closely  together  (2:4),  or  even  becomes  restless 
and  awakes  (6:a),  (17:T).  A  very  bright  light  is  especially  painful 
immediately  on  awakening.  Preyer  observed  that  his  boy  shut  his  eyes 
and  turned  his  head  away  when  a  candle  was  held  close  to  him  on 
awakening.  But  when  he  had  been  awake  for  some  hours,  he  looked 
steadily,  without  blinking,  at  a  candle  held  one  metre  from  his  eyes.1 

With  these  qualifications,  we  may  conclude,  then,  that  "light  is  pleas- 
ant to  the  eye,"  being  its  natural  "  food,"  and  that  under  its  influence 
the  delicate  organ  of  vision  grows  and  develops,  the  visual  centres  in 
the  cerebrum  become  differentiated  and  capable  of  performing  their 
function,  thus  rendering  possible  the  subsequent  apprehension  of  quali- 
ties in  external  things  by  means  of  this  sense. 

Physiological  Adjustments  to  Light.— AX  the  beginning  of  life,  all  ad- 
justments of  the  visual  organ  to  the  strength  of  the  light  are  reflex.  For 
example,  from  the  very  first  the  filaments  that  contract  the  pupil  per- 
form their  function.  The  pupil  accommodates  itself  to  the  brightness  of 
the  light,  expanding  and  contracting,  as  Kussmaul  and  Raehlmann 
have  shown.  Both  pupils  contract  when  the  light  reaches  one  of  them. 
These  movements  of  contraction  remain  automatic  to  the  end  of  life. 
It  is  otherwise  with  such  movements  as  following  a  moving  light  or 
object  with  the  eyes.  This  is  at  first  undoubtedly  reflex,  since  it  takes 
place  before  the  conscious  centres  have  been  sufficiently  developed  for 
voluntary  action,  but  it  afterwards  certainly  comes  within  the  domain 
of  the  will,  as  is  evident  from  adult  conscious  experience. 

Eye  Movements. — This  includes  movements  of  the  eye-balls  (upward, 
downward,  and  from  right  to  left,  etc.),  and  movements  of  the  lids 
(raising  and  lowering),  as  well  as  the  relation  of  the  two  to  each  other. 

Does  the  child  possess  a  complete  nerve-mechanism  for  eye-move- 
ments, working  perfectly  from  the  beginning,  or  does  he  gradually  and 
painfully  acquire  all  eye-movements ?J^The  most  recent  observations 
lead  to  the  following  conclusion  :  The  mechanism  is  inherited  complete 
so  far  asjmpil,  retina  and  nerve  tracts  are  concerned,  but  the  corre- 
sponding brain  centres  are  not  yet  developed  in  the  first  days,  and 
become  so  only  by  experience ;  consequently  the  adjustment  of  move- 
ments to  external  conditions  takes  place  only  gradually.  No  doubt 
there  is  a  hereditary  predisposition  to  coordinated  movements,  which  to 
some  extent  facilitates  the  subsequent  adjustment,  but  the  largest  share 
is  due  to  experience.  The  following  facts  have  been  established  by 
careful  observations : 

First.  As  to  movements  of  the  eye-balls:  Complete  conscious 
/coordination  of  the  movements  of  the  two  eyes  does  not  take  place 
[during  the  first  days.  True,  the  eyes  sometimes  move  together,  even 
from  the  first,2  but  there  are  also  numberless  non-coordinated  move- 
ments, which  proves  that  the  coordinated  ones  are  accidental  at  first, 
and  that  the  useless  movements  are  only  gradually  eliminated.     Raehl- 

JI  believe  this  sensitiveness  to  light  on  first  awakening  is  also  .quite  common  among 
adults. 

2  According  to  one  observer  on  the  fourth  day,  according  to  another  on  the  second 
day  (  B  ),  while  a  third  noticed  them  five  minutes  after  birth  (  a  ). 


10  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

mann  and  Witkowski,  in  a  very  large  number  of  observations  on  new- 
born children,  carried  on  for  fifteen  years,  found  that  the  infant  eyes, 
especially  in  sleep,  ••  assume  positions  and  perform  movements  which 
are  entirely  contrary  to  all  the  principles  of  association,'*  including 
complete  opposite  movements  of  the  eyes,  resulting  in  divergence  of 
eye-positions  (18).  Sometimes  the  eyes  move  together,  laterally  and 
vertically  (though  this  coordination  is  not  so  perfect  as  in  the  adult), 
but  just  as  frequently  are  the  movements  irregular  (E).  Sometimes 
one  eye  moves,  while  the  other  remains  at  rest  Sometimes  the  head  is 
turned  in  one  direction,  and  the  eyes  in  another.  A  great  deal  of  un- 
necessary convergence  takes  place  (16),  as  I  have  frequently  observed. 
In  most  observed  cases,  however,  these  asymmetrical  movements  have 
become  very  much  less  frequent  by  the  third  mouth  and,  at  a  little 
later  time,  have  almost  entirely  disappeared,  except  in  sleep  (2Si>),  (u), 

(12)       (13). 

Second.  As  to  movements  of  the  lid?  :  The  only  lid-movement  that 
can  be  accepted  as  inborn,  is  the  sudden  "  blinking  "  when  a  foreign 
substance  comes  into  contact  with  the  lashes  or  the  cornea,  or  on  the 
sudden  approach  of  a  strong  light.  The  mere  approach  of  the  object, 
without  contact,  does  not  produce  blinking  at  first ;  indeed,  in  some 
cases,  it  fails  in  children  two  months  old  (ls).  A-H  other  lid-movements 
are  at  first  accidental.  Sometimes  the  lids  move  together,  though  more 
frequently  they  do  not.  Sometimes  ore  eye*  remains  open  while  the 
other  is  shut.  The  two  eyes  do  not  always  open  to  an  equal  degree ; 
and  often,  if  one  eye  be  disturbed  and  blinking  take  place,  the  lid  of 
the  undisturbed  eye  will  follow  some  time  after  the  other.  The  lids  are 
often  raised  while  the  look  is  directed  downward,  and  vice  versa.  The 
child  often  falls  asleep  with  the  lids  a  little  apart  (  E  ).  Coordination, 
then,  is  not  perfect  at  first,  but  becomes  so  by  experience.  Not  only 
so,  but  the  child  actually  has  to  unlearn  several  monenient-  • 
raising  the  lids  while  the  eyes  are  directed  downward)  and  these  have 
become  impossible  in  the  adult  (14).  Gradually  these  asymmetrical 
movements  disappear,  until  by  the  end  of  the  third  month  they  have 
become  very  rare,  except  in  sleep. 

All  that  has  been  said  concerning  movements  of  the  eyes,  and  of  the 
lids,  separately,  is  true,  mutatis  mutandis,  of  the  relation  of  these  to 
each  other.  Perfect  coordination  among  the  several  branches  of  the 
oculomotorius.is  not  present  at  the  beginning  of  life  (not  at  all  during 
the  first  ten  days,  according  to  Raehlmann),  but  is  a  gradual  attainment, 
requiring  time  and  experience.  But  when  once  the  awakening  mind  has 
taken  possession  of  the  eye,  and  made  the  movements  of  that  organ  its 
own,  it  becomes  one  of  the  most  expressive  organs  of  the  body,  :*.  id 
reveals  the  various  shades  of  the  inner  feeling  with  astonishing 
accuracy. 

Fixation.— By  this  is  meant  conscious  direction  of  the  gaze  up< 
object  as  contrasted  with  passive  staring  into  spate.       And  the  ', 
tion  of  most  importance  here  is :  when  does  the  child  pass  from  the  one 
to  the  other?    The  question  is  important,  because  it  throws  light   u 
the  beginning  of  volition,  which,  in  its  exercise,  determines  in  such 
measure  the  mental  and  moral  development  of  the  child. 

Preyer  divides  the  "  seeing  "  of  the  infaut  into  four  stages.  1  shall 
follow  his  Classification,  bringing  under  oath  heading  also  the  observa- 
tions made  by  others  on  the  pf-riod  in  question  |  -:41)  : 

First.  Staring  into, empty  space;  experiencing  a  sensation,  but  not 
perceiving~arrobject.  I  The  ability  to  "  fixate"  an  object  is  lacking  in 
the  newly-born,  because  he  lias  as  yet  no  control  over  the  muscles  that 
move  the  head  and  eyes.  The  apparent  looking  of  the  first  days  is  not, 
therefore,  a  voluntary  or  intelligent  action,  hut  only  the  Instinctive 


SENSATION.  11 

turning  of  the  head  and  eye  so  as  to  bring  the  light  into  contact  with  the 
central  portion  of  the  retina,  where  it  produces  the  greatest  amount  of 
pleasurable  feeling.  When  Champneys  observes  that  one  child  '"fixed" 
his  eyes  on  a  candle  on  the  seventh  day  (14),  and  Darwin  reports  that 
another  child  did  the  same  on  the  ninth  day  (u),  Preyer  remarks  that 
this  was  probably  not  real  looking,  but  only  staring  into  space,  since  in 
other  similar  cases  it  was  observed  that  the  child  continued  to  "  look  " 
when  the  object  was  withdrawn.  There  is  probably  no  fixation  in  the 
first  nine  days. 

Second.  The  child  no  longer  "  stares,"  but  "  looks."  He  fastens  his 
gaze  upon  a  bright  extended  surface  (e.  ^,"Tus~mother's  face)  and 
when  another  bright,  moderately  large  object  comes  within  the  field  of 
vision,  he  turns  his  eyes  from  the  first  to  the  second.  One  child  was 
observed  to  do  this  on  his  eleventh  (2 ),  and  another  on  the  fourteenth 
day  (")•  Along  with  the  fixing  of  the  gaze,  there  is  also  a  more  intel- 
ligent expression.  Perez  reports  that  a  child  observed  by  him  "  looked 
fixedly  for  three  or  four  minutes  at  a  flickering  reflection  of  light  before 
the  end  of  his  first  month  (  6: 113)."  In  another  case,  an  object  was 
looked  at  steadily  in  the  fourth  week  for  the  first  time(16) ;  in  another, 
a  yellow  dress  held  the  child's  gaze  at  five  weeks  (19),  and  in  still 
another  the  power  of  fixation  is  reported  on  as  still  absent  when  the 
child  was  two  months  old  (E).  Sigismund  observes  that  about  the 
middle  of  the  first  three  months  the  child  "  begins  to  look  at  objects 
with  attention ;"  and  Eaehlmann  found  that  "  appropriate  selection 
among  the  many  possible  eye  and  lid  movements,  with  fixation  of  the 
object,  took  place  for  the  first  time  after  the  fifth  week."1 

Third.  In  the  third  stage,  the  child  has  acquired  the  power  to 
with  his  eyes  a  bright,  moving  object.  Here  we  have  associated  move- 
ments of  the  eyes,  the  head  being  motionless,  or  nearly  so.  We  have 
now,  therefore,  a  distinct  advance,  requiring  a  higher  exercise  of  power 
over  the  muscles  J^The  movement  is  not  accomplished  if  the  object  be 
moved  too  rapidly*.  In  one  case  the  child's  eyes  followed  a  moving  candle 
in  the  second  week  (20).  In  another,  on  the  twenty-third  day.  But 
most  of  the  observers  have  noticed  this  activity  first  about  the  fifth 
week,  some  as  late  as  the  sixth  or  seventh.  Raehlmann  remarks  on 
this  point  to  the  following  effect :  Associated  lateral  movements  of  the 
eyes  can  be  found  seldom  earlier  than  the  fifth  week.  Hold  a  bright  or 
colored  object  at  a  little  distance,  directly  before  the  child's  eyes.  One 
soon  notices  a  peculiar  change  of  expression,  accompanied  by  cessation 
of  the  movements  which  the  limbs  until  now  were  executing.  The 
object  has  been  fixated.  Now  move  it  slowly  in  a  horizontal  direction 
to  one  side,  and  both  the  eyes  follow,  but  without  movement  of  the 
head.  If  the  object  be  moved  quickly,  the  child's  eyes  lose  it  at  once ; 
and  also  if  the  movement  be  vertical  instead  of  horizontal.2 

In  the  early  part  of  this  third  stage,  Preyer  holds,  there  is  no. 
necessary  cooperation  of  the  cerebrum,  but  only  of  the  corpora  quadri- 
gemina,  and  he  cites  in  proof  the  experiment  of  Longet  with  a  pigeon, 
from  which  the  cerebral  hemispheres  had  been  carefully  removed,  and 
which,  in  that  condition,  followed  with  its  eyes  the  flame  of  a  moving 
candle  (2;45).  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  since  the  instinctive 
and  reflex  play  so  much  larger  a  part  relatively  in  the  lower  animals 
than  in  man,  this  proof  is  not  entirely  trustworthy,  forasmuch  as  a 
movement,  which  in  the  lower  animals  is  reflex,  may  in  man  require 
the  cooperation  of  the  cerebrum.     More  to  the  purpose  would  be  the 

'Taking  the  average  of  the  above  cases,  we  have  the  thirty-second  day,  or  during-  the 
fifth  week,  as  the  time  of  the  beginning  of  fixation. 

2Genzmer,  on  the  other  hand,  by  shaking  a  bright  object  before  the  eyes,  obtained 
not  oniy  fixation,  but  "  following  "  movements  in  a  large  number  of  children,  at  a  much 
earlier  age  than  this  (9:  23). 


\ 


12  THE    PSYCHOLOGY    OF    CHILDHOOD. 

case  of  an  acephalous  or  microcephalous  child.  Kollman  says  of  the 
microcephalous  Margaret  Becker,  eight  years  of  age :  "  Her  gait  is 
tottering,  the  movements  of  the  head  and  extremities  jerky,  not  always 
coordinated,  hence  unsteady,  inappropriate  and  spasmodic  ;  her  look  is 
restlets,  objects  are  not  definitely  fixated."  This  case  seems  to  point  in 
the  opposite  direction  from  that  of  Longet's  pigeon,  and  Preyer's  con- 
clusion therefrom. 

Fourth.  Here  we  pass  from  looking  to  observing,  to  the  active 
search  for  objects.  The  child  has  acquired  ability  to  give  definite 
direction  to  the  gaze,  and  hold  it  there.  Of  course  the  first  attempts 
are  often  ineffectual,  but  roughly  speaking,  from  about  the  third  to  the 
fifth  month,  this  power  is  obtained  (18 ) .  A  girl  of  ten  weeks  looked 
for  the  face  of  a  person  calling  her.  A  boy  in  his  sixth  week  moved 
his  head  to  follow  a  look  cast  in  a  certain  direction  (6:15).  Another 
began  in  his  sixteenth  week  to  look  intently  at  his  own  hands.  Another 
of  twelve  weeks,  on  hearing  a  noise  made  by  a  person  on  a  drinking 
glass  with  a  moistened  finger,  turned  his  head  in  the  direction  of  the 
noise,  and,  after  one  or  two  ineffectual  attempts,  found  the  object  with 
his  eyes  and  fixated  it.  In  the  fourteenth  week  he  followed  promptly 
the  movements  of  a  pendulum  which  made  forty  complete  oscillations 
per  minute  ( 2 ).  Sigismund's  boy,  at  nineteen  weeks,  paid  great  atten- 
tion to  the  movements  of  a  pendulum,  and  afterwards  followed  the 
movements  of  a  spoon  from  dish  to  mouth  and  back  again,  with  eager 
mien  (1:44).  Rapid  movements,  however,  are  not  as  yet  preferred.  In 
the  railway  carriage,  the  child  of  this  age  does  not  look  at  the  passing 
objects,  but  rather  at  the  walls  and  ceiling  of  the  coach.  Not  before 
the  twenty-ninth  week  (in  one  observed  case)  did  the  child  look  dis- 
tinctly, beyond  doubt,  at  a  sparrow  flying  by.  Another  "  watched  the 
flight  of  birds  "  when  five  months  old  (  M  ).  It  will  readily  be  observed 
that  the  full  attainment  of  this  fourth  stage  involves  voluntary  control 
of  the  mechanism  of  the  eye  as  well  as  considerable  progress  in  the 
intellectual  apprehension  of  the  external  world.  So  that  now  the  child 
is  no  longer  the  reflex,  staring  creature,  but  has  become  the  bona  fide 

seeing"  human  being. 


u 


Seeing  in  Perspective. — Numerous  observations  confirm  the  following 
statements : 

(a).  The  new-born  child  does  not  see,  in  any  sense  of  the  word, 
objects  that  are  very  distant  from  him ;  or  if  he  sees  them  at  all,  the 
impression  made  by  them  upon  the  retina  is  so  vague  as  not  to  enter 
into  distinct  consciousness.  Indeed,  there  are  few  distinct  retinal 
images  at  first  from  subjects  either  near  or  distant. 

(6).  For  a  long  time  after  he  is  able  to  see  objects  at  a  considerable 
distance,  and  several  objects  at  unequal  distances  in  the  field  of  vision 
together,  he  still  does  not  know  how  unequal  their  distances  are,  or 
even  that  they  are  unequal  (2:50).1  The  physiological  mechanism  of 
the  eye,  by  which  it  is  "accommodated"  to  the  distance  of  the  object 
seen,  operates  very  early  ;  but  the  estimation  of  distance  is  long  imperfect. 
At  one  mouth  and  five  days,  Tiedemaun's  son  ;l  distinguished  objects 
outside  him,  and  tried  to  seize  them,  extending  his  hands  and  bending 
his  body"  (12).  By  the  end  of  the  second  month,  there  is,  according 
to  one  observer,  a  vague  idea  of  distance  (*:28).  But  most  observers 
place  it  much  later  than  this.     One  says:     "The  first  real  grasping  of 


'"  II  est  prouvA,  par  des  fuits  certains,  qu'ils  sent  plusicurs  tnois,  sans  avoir  d'i.li-- 
precise  des  distances."  Cabanis,  "Rapports  Uu  physique  et  du  moral  de  Thornine." 
\6:t  |. 


SENSATION.  13 

the  fixated  object,  with  appreciation  of  its  distance,  was  observed  first 
about  the  end  of  the  fifth  month.  But  it  is  very  slowly  acquired,  and 
not  until  much  later  than  this  does  the  hand  proceed  directly,  by  the 
nearest  way,  to  the  object"  (18).  Another  found  but  little  comprehen- 
sion of  size  or  distance  until  the  sixth  month.  Another  reports  of  a 
little  boy  that  when  nearly  q,  year  old,  he  "saw  the  moon  and  stars, 
and  his  eagerness  to  have  the  moon  was  most  interesting.  Night  after 
night  he  would  call  for  it,  stretching  out  his  little  hands  towards  the 
window"  (19).  The  girl  F.  did  not  look  at  anything  very  far  away 
until  she  was  a  year  old.  Preyer's  boy,  when  four  months  old,  "  often 
grasped  at  objects  which  were  twice  the  length  of  his  arm  from  him ; 
when  considerably  over  a  year  old  he  grasped  again  and  again  at  a 
lamp  in  the  ceiling  of  a  railway  carriage,  and  when  nearly  two  years 
old  tried  to  hand  a  piece  of  paper  to  a  person  looking  out  of  a  second 
story  window,  from  the  garden  below — "a  convincing  proof  how  little 
he  appreciates  distance."1 

(c).  At  first  the  child  sees  only  colored  surface,  and  not  figures  in 
the  third  dimension.  All  objects  present  themselves  to  his  eye  simply 
as  patches  of  color.  Gradually,  by  the  aid  of  movement  and  touch,  he 
comes  to  a  knowledge  of  their  cubic  properties.  Hence  also  arises 
by  experience  an  association  between  the  forms  and  distances  of  objects 
and  their  varying  degrees  of  luminosity,  so  that  the  child  comes  to 
interpret  the  one  in  terms  of  the  other.  Hence  the  progress  of  the 
child  in  complete  vision, 'including  all  that  is  meant  by  the  appreciation 
of  perspective,  is  immensely  facilitated  from  the  time  he  begins  to  walk, 
since,  by  locomotion,  he  is  able  to  approach  the  object  and  bring  sight, 
touch  and  the  muscular  sense  to  bear  upon  its  examination. 

Color  Discrimination.  Not  only  is  color  blindness  "notoriously 
hereditary"  as  an  abnormal  condition  in  the  adult  (21:40)^2  but  it  is  the 
normal  condition  of  the  new-born  child.  Since  the  tractus  opticus  does 
not  get  its  nerve  medulla,  and  with  that  its  'permanent  coloring,  until 
the  third  or  fourth  day  of  life,  there  is  probably  no  discrimination  of 
colors  up  to  that  time,  but  only  of  light  and  darkness.  Moreover,  even 
when  discrimination  of  colors  has  begun,  it  proceeds  very  slowly,  and 
the  investigation  is  beset  by  difficulties.  How  are  we  to  distinguish 
(e.  g.)  the  mere  feeling  of  difference  between  sensations  of  color  from 
intelligent  apprehension  of  the  colors  themselves?  Very  little  can  be 
done  until  the  child  can  speak,  and  even  then  new  difficulties  present 
themselves.  The  names  of  colors  are  more  difficult  to  acquire  than  the 
names  of  things,  because  more  abstract.  Grant  Allen  found  that  chil- 
dren of  two  years  and  even  more,  who  knew  perfectly  well  the  names 
of  grapes,  strawberries  and  oranges,  yet  had  no  appropriate  verbal 
symbol  for  purple,  crimson  or  orange  as  a  color  (22:250)  .  an^  1  have  found 
in  examining  the  child-vocabularies,  which  I  have  collected  for  the  fifth 
chapter  of  the  present  work,  that  out  of  five  thousand  four  hundred 
words,  only  about  thirty  are  color  terms.  In  several  cases  the  vocabu- 
lary of  a  child  two  years  old  contains  not  a  single  color  word,  though 
he  habitually  employs  from  three  to  five  hundred  words  (2S).  Another 
difficulty  lies  in  the  association  between  the  color  and  its  name.  The 
child  may  know  a  color — red — perfectly  well ;  and  may  also  know  the 
sound — red, — but  he  may  not  be  able  to  associate  the  two  together  so 

'And  yet  another  child  had  apparently  attained  a  comparatively  correct  estimation 
of  distance  by  the  end  of  her  seventh  month,  as  she  "  invariably  refused  to  reach  for 
an  object  more  than  fourteen  inches  distant,  her  reaching  distance  being  from  nine  to 
ten  inches  "  (16 ). 

2Color  blindness  seems  much  more  common  among  males  than  among  females.  Tests 
made  in  1879  on  nearly  thirty  thousand  students  of  the  various  schools  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  showed  that  of  the  boys  four  in  every  hundred  were  color  blind,  while  among 
the  girls  the  proportion  was  less  than  one  in  a  thousand.  B.  Joy  Jeffers,  A.  M.,  M.  D.,  in 
"  School  Documents,"  No.  13,  Boston,  1880. 


14  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

as,  when  red  is  named,  to  point  it  out ;  or,  when  it  is  pointed  out,  to 
name  it.  This  is  not  from  lack  of  ability  to  distinguish  color  from 
color,  but  from  inability  to  associate  the  color  with  the  spoken  word. 

A  girl  ten  days  old  had  her  attention  arrested  by  the  contrasted  colors 
of  her  mother's  dress.  She  seemed  pleased  and  smiled  (16).  A  boy 
twenty-three  days  old  was  pleased  with  a  brightly  colored  curtain  (2:6). 
Another  child  iu  his  second  month  took  notice  of  the  difference  between 
bright  colors  and  quiet  ones,  and  showed  his  preference  for  the  former 
by  smiles  (6:113).  Another,  towards  the  end  of  his  second  month,  was 
attracted  by  white,  blue  and  violet,  other  colors  being  indifferent.  A 
girl  of  three  months  and  a  boy  of  five  months  seemed  pleased  with  some 
drawings  of  a  uniformly  gray  color  (6:41),  while  Genzmer's  boy  for  the 
first  four  months  of  his  life  seemed  attracted  only  by  white  objects,  but 
after  that  time  he  began  to  show  a  preference  for  other  bright  colors, 
especially  red.  Raehlmann  found  no  distinction  of  similar  objects 
differently  colored  until  a  good  while  after  the  fifth  week.  Sometimes 
a  strange  antipathy  to  certain  colors  is  manifested.  In  several  cases 
children  have  refused  to  go  to  anybody  dressed  in  black  (19). 

Experiments  in  color  discrimination,  which  involve  the  use  of  words, 
may  be  carried  on  in  two  ways.  A  color  may  be  named,  and  the  child 
required  to  pick  that  color  out  of  several ;  or  the  color  may  be  shown 
him,  and  he  required  to  name  it.  Preyer  (2:8)  used  both  methods,  with 
the  following  results :  In  the  twentieth  month  repeated  trials  yielded 
absolutely  no  result,  but  in  the  beginning  of  the  child's  third  year,  the 
first  correct  responses  were  obtained,  the  result  being  eleven  right 
answers  and  six  wrong  ones.  In  this  case  he  used  two  colors,  red  and 
green.  Then  yellow  was  added,  and  at  once  took  its  place  as  the  color 
most  readily  perceived  (26th  month).  The  percentages  of  right  an- 
swers were :  Yellow  82,  green  77,  red  72.  Blue  was  then  added,  with 
the  following  result:  Y'ellow  94,  green  79,  red  70,  blue  69.  Trials 
made  a  week  later  with  five  colors  resulted  as  follows :  Yellow  100, 
violet  92,  green  90,  red  83,  blue  42.  Then,  with  six  colors  :  Yellow  96, 
violet  95,  red  84,  gray  83,  green  74,  blue  67  (26th  and  27th  months). 
Finally,  two  weeks  later,  trial  was  made  with  nine  colors,  resulting  as 
follows  :  Yellow,  gray,  brown  and  black  100,  red  94,  violet  85,  green  3, 
rose  33,  blue  23.  Preyer  carried  these  experiments  a  good  deal  further, 
and  varied  the  method,  but  with  substantially  the  same  results.  The 
£um  jaary  of  all  his  tests  up  to  the  34th  month  gives  the  following  order 
of  preferences:  Yellow,  brown,  red,  violet,  black,  rose,  orange,  gray, 
green,  blue.  When  yellow  and  red  were  removed,  the  child  showed  less 
interest.  Blue  and  green  were  avoided,  and  mostly  named  wrong,  green 
being  often  called  "garnix"  ("gar  nichts"  =  "nothing  at  all"). 

Binet  (24)  made  a  number  of  experiments  with  a  little  girl  from  the 
32nd  to  the  40th  month,  with  results  which  I  may  epitomize  as  follows: 

1st  series  :    Red  100,  green  61,  yellow  52. 

2d  series:  Bed  100,  blue  92,  maroon  and  rose  89,  violet 75,  green  71, 
white  62,  yellow  38. 

In  these  experiments,  the  child  was  required  to  point  out  the  color 
named  to  her.  The  method  was  now  reversed,  and  the  child  required 
to  name  the  color  pointed  out  to  her.    The  result  was  as  follows  : 

1st  series  :    Red  100,  yellow  0. 

2d  series:  Blue  100,  red  96,  green  82,  rose  57,  violet  54,  maroon  50, 
white  45,  yellow  28.  (M.  Binet  says  every  time  an  error  is  committed 
with  yellow,  it  consists  in  confounding  it  with  green.  He  noticed  also 
that  violet  was  confounded  with  blue.) 

Some  remarkable  differences  may  be  noticed  between  the  results  of 
these  two  observers.  For  example,  in  the  perception  of  yellow;  while 
Preyer'8  child  perceived  this  color  better  than  any  other,  Blnet'8  little 
girl  had  the  greatest  difficulty  with  it.     Also  as  regards  blue  :  in  the  one 


SENSATION.  15 

case  this  color  stands  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  list,  while  in  the  other 
it  is  almost  at  the  top.1 

The  greatest  uniformity  obtains  in  the  case  of  bright  and  glaring 
colors,  such  as  red.  This  may  have  a  physiological  basis  in  the  fact 
that  when  the  eyes  are  closed  in  a  bright  light,  red  is  the  only  color 
visible. 

In  the  foregoing  experiments,  the  child  must  know  the  names  of  the 
colors  before  the  tests  can  be  made ;  and  we  can  never  be  certain  that 
the  mistakes  committed  do  not  arise  from  confusion  of  words  rather 
than  of  colors.  On  this  account,  the  following  tests  made  by  Binet 
seem  to  me  of  far  greater  value.  Instead  of  the  "  methode  d'appella- 
tion,"  as  he  calls  the  system  just  explained,  he  adopted  here  the 
"  methode  de  reconnaissance,"  which  consists  in  showing  the  child  a 
counter  of  a  certain  color,  then  shuffling  it  together  with  a  number  of 
counters  of  that  color  and  others,  and  requiring  him  to  pick  out  a 
counter  of  that  color.  In  this  way  the  name  is  not  used  at  all,  and  the 
test  proceeds  purely  on  the  recognition  of  color.  The  results  by  this 
method  were  much  more  satisfactory.  With  three  colors — red,  green  and 
yellow — no  mistakes  being  made ;  and  even  with  seven  colors,  and  with 
an  interval  of  time  between  the  perception  and  the  recognition,  the 
errors  were  very  few  indeed.  This  seems  to  show  that  the  child's  chief 
difficulty  is  not  in  recognition  of  the  color,  but  in  the  association  of  the 
color  with  the  sound  of  its  name.2 

Objective  Interpretation.  The  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  the 
visual  sensation  is  the  slowest  in  development  of  all  the  faculties  con- 
nected with  the  eye.  The  subject  belongs  indeed  properly  under  the 
head  of  .Perception  and  Judgment,  and  little  need  be  said  upon  it  here. 

To  comprehend  the  distance  and  form  of  an  object,  is  an  advance  on 
the  rudimentary  "seeing"  of  the  object ;  but  to  understand  what  the  object 
is  so  as  to  distinguish  it  from  other  objects,  and  be  conscious  of  a  relation 
between  it  and  the  perceiving  subject,  constitutes  a  still  further  advance. 
The  child  attains  this  further  advance  slowly  and  painfully,  at  the  cost 
of  many  tumbles  and  scratches,  the  result  of  errors  in  judgment  that 
are  sometimes  pitiable,  often  comical.  Feeling  and  instinct  render  great 
service  at  this  time,  and  often  lead  the  child  to  do  things  which,  on  a' 
casual  view,  might  too  readily  be  interpreted  as  the  work  of  judgment ; 
as  in  the  case  of  the  child  of  less  than  a  month,  who  made  a  wry  face  at 
the  sight  of  some  bitter  medicine  (6:16). 

The  first  object  to  be  recognized  is  usually  the  mother's  face,  which 
is  greeted  with  a  smile  of  pleasure  by  children  only  a  few  weeks  old 
(18).  But  this  first  recognition  is  very  vague  and  inaccurate,  as  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  infant  "recognizes"  in  the  same  way,  at 
first,  any  other  face  which  resembles  hers  in  broad  outlines ;  and  that 
when  recognition  of  the  father's  face  takes  place,  the  child  bestows  his 
smile  of  welcome  also  on  any  other  bearded  gentleman  who  happens  to 
come  within  his  range  of  vision.  For  a  long  time,  objects  are  not 
grasped  as  comprehensive  wholes,  but  rather  some  striking  feature  is 
apprehended,  and  all  else  left  out  of  account.V  Hence  arise  some  of  the 
very  peculiar  association  groupings,  which  we  shall  notice  in  connec- 
tion with  language.  From  about  the  sixth  month,  however,  evidences 
of  intelligent  comprehension  of  many  of  the  more  common  objects  may 


)  Experiments  made  by  Wolfe  on  the  school  children  of  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  gave 
results  differing  from  both  Preyer  and  Binet.  Following  is  the  order  in  this  case: 
White,  black  and  red  (uearly  always  correctly  named),  then  blue,  yellow,  green,  pink, 
orange  and  violet,  in  the  order  named  (23) . 

2  For  a  criticism  of  all  these  methods,  and  the  explanation  of  another,  in  which  the 
whole  question  is  viewed  from  the  motor  standpoint,  see  two  articles  by  Prof.  Baldwin, 
iD  Science  for  April  21sd  and  28th,  1893. 


16  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

be  observed.  The  smile  or  nod  of  the  parents  is  distinguished  from 
that  of  strangers,  and  responded  to  in  a  different  manner.  Visual 
impressions  connected  with  food  and  clothing  are  quickly  and  surely 
recognized  (2:62).  Yet  even  much  later  than  this,  many  mistakes  are 
made.  The  child  of  a  year  and  a  half  will  try  to  pick  up  a  sunbeam 
from  the  floor,  to  grasp  his  own  reflection  in  the  mirror,  to  pull  a  stream 
of  water  flowing  from  a  sponge,  as  though  it  were  a  string.  Even  at 
the  close  of  his  second  year,  pictorial  representation  is  a  great  mystery 
to  him,  and  he  prefers  the  reality.  Sigismund's  boy,  at  two  years, 
called  a  circle  "  plate,"  a  square  "  bonbon,"  and  his  father's  shadow 
"  papa;  "  and  Preyer's  boy,  much  later  than  this,  called  a  square  "  win- 
dow," a  triangle  "roof,"  a  circle  "  ring,"  and  several  dots  on  the  paper 
u  little  birds."    Pollock  tells  of  a  girl  nearly  two  years  old,  who,  on 

seeing  a  row  of  dots  on  a  printed  page,  thus ,  cried  out, 

"  Oh.  pins,"  and  made  repeated  attempts  to  pick  them  out  C26) ;  and  the 
girl  F.  was  observed  one  day  trying  to  "  pick  up  "  her  father's  white 
protruding  cuff  from  what  she  supposed  was  the  underlying  coatsleeve, 
as  she  attempted  to  grasp  the  cuff  from  that  side,  and  seemed  much  sur- 
prised at  her  failure. 

II.— HEARING. 

The  importance  of  hearing  as  a  knowledge-giving  sense  would  be 
difficult  to  over-estimate.  Besides  being  the  channel  of  a  large  part  of 
our  knowledge,  and  the  medium  of  a  vast  amount  of  refined  pleasure, 
the  sense  of  hearing  plays  so  large  a  role  in  the  acquisition  of  language 
that  a  child  who  is  perfectly  deaf  from  birth,  does  not  learn  to  speak. 

The  Embryonic  Ear. — According  to  Quain's  Anatomy,  the  more 
important  parts  of  the  organ  of  hearing  are  formed  by  the  involution  of 
the  epiblast  from  the  surface  of  the  head,  in  the  region  of  the  medulla 
oblongata,    by    which    a    depression    is    produced.      This  depression 

? gradually  deepening,  and  its  outer  aperture  becoming  narrowed,  a  flask- 
ike  cavity  is  formed,  which  constitutes  on  each  side  the  primary  auditory 
vesicle  ( 8:848 ). 

The  possibility  of  hearing  in  the  intra-uterine  stage,  depends  on  two 
things,  viz.,  the  presence  of  adequate  stimuli  and  the  permeability  of 
those  passages  and  nerve  tracts  by  which  sensations  of  sound  are 
mediated.  As  to  the  first  condition,  there  are  probably  numerous  sounds 
which  might  produce  sensations  of  hearing  in  the  foetus,  such  as  the 
visceral  movements  of  the  mother  and  those  of  the  foetus  itself.  Hear- 
ing at  this  stage  is,  however,  highly  improbable,  because  the  second 
condition  is  not  fulfilled.  The  drum  cavity  is  filled  with  a  viscous  mass, 
which  probably  prevents  the  passage  of  the  necessary  sound-vibrations 
through  the  tympanum,  even  leaving  out  of  account  the  complete 
absence  of  air  at  this  period  (10:  ttl ).  The  tympanum  itself  also  has  not, 
at  this  time,  the  perpendicular  position  which  it  afterwards  assumes,  and 
which  seems  necessary  for  the  transmission  of  sound,  but  lies  rather  in 
a  horizontal  situation  C27). 

Hearing  in  the  New-born. — Czerney,  in  his  experiments  as  to  the  com- 
parative soundness  of  sleep  at  different  times,  was  unable  to  use  a  sound 
stimulus  with  new-born  children  as  he  did  with  adults,  because  of  their 
failure  to  react  to  sound-impressions;  he  was  obliged,  in  their  case,  to 
resort  to  electrical  stimulation  (28).  Kroner  assured  himself  by  many 
experiments  that  the  child,  in  the  first  week  of  his  life,  reacts  distinctly 
to  strong  sound-impressions  ("),  and  the  very  careful  experiments  of 
Moldenhauer  confirm  this  conclusion.  Mrs.  Talbot  says  of  one  child 
that  he  was  sensible  to  sound  three  hours  after  his  birth  (lfl).     Sigi«- 


SENSATION.  17 

mund  saw  the  first  evidences  of  hearing  much  later.1  Perez  thinks 
there  may  be — through  vibration  —  something  corresponding  to  a 
rudimentary  and  general  sense  of  hearing  in  the  uterus  (  6:3  ).  Champ- 
neys  could  not  elicit  any  response — by  starting  or  otherwise — during 
the  first  week,  to  any  noise,  however  loud,  unless  accompanied  by 
vibration  other  than  air-vibration  (M).  Kussmaul  utterly  failed  to  pro- 
duce any  impression  in  the  first  days,  no  matter  how  loud  or  discordant 
the  noise.2  He  believes  hearing  sleeps  most  deeply  of  all  the  senses. 
But  he  quotes  Herr  Feldsbausch,  assistant  in  midwifery  at  the  hospital 
in  Jena,  to  show  that  there  was  hearing  in  many  cases  from  the  third 
day.  Genzmer  found  that  almost  all  the  children  on  whom  he  experi- 
mented, on  the  first  day,or  certainly  on  the  second,  reacted  to  impressions 
of  sound;  but  the  reaction  was  unequal  in  different  children  (9: 19).  Dr.  ' 
Deneke  found  one  child  of  six  hours  who  started  and  closed  his  eyes 
tighter  at  the  sound  of  two  metallic  covers  striking  together ;  while 
Preyer  observed  one  who  did  not  react  at  all  on  the  third  day,  and 
another  who,  on  the  sixth  day,  reacted  only  very  slightly  (2: 76).  Sully 
noticed,  on  the  second  day,  a  distinct  movement  of  the  head  in  response 
to  sound,  and  this  is  confirmed  by  Professor  Baldwin.  Burdach  declares 
the  child  hears  nothing  during  the  first  week. 

On  these  the  following  observations  are  in  place,  and  may  help  to  the 
understanding  of  the  discrepancies. 

(1).  There  is  unanimity  on  one  point:  No  one  has  succeeded  in 
proving  that  any  child  hears  anything  during  the  first  hours.  This 
corresponds  to  the  physiological  facts  that  the  eustachian  tube  is  not 
permeable,  nor  does  air  find  its  way  into  the  middle  ear  until  some  little 
time  after  respiration  hag  begun.  Lesser's  experiments  show  that  the 
foetal  conditions  of  the  middle  ear  may  indeed  persist  in  the  prematurely 
born  more  than  twenty  hours. 

(2).  Starting  in  response  to  a  loud  noise  may  often  be  caused  by 
vibrations  which  affect  the  whole  body,  and  act  as  a  nervous  shock. 
Children  are  known  to  start  on  the  slamming  of  a  door,  when  they  make 
no  such  response  to  a  voice,  however  loud.  No  doubt,  in  the  first  case, 
the  child  feels  the  jar  rather  than  hears  the  noise. 

(3) .  Any  further  discrepancies  not  resolved  by  these  two  considera- 
tions, may  be  accounted  for  by  the  differences  in  maturity  of  different 
children  at  birth,  and  the  varying  rapidity  with  which  the  physiological 
adjustments  are  completed.  Generalizing,  we  may  say  that  the  period 
of  beginning  to  hear  varies  according  to  these  circumstances,  from  the 
sixth  hour  to  the  third  week.  If,  in  the  fourth  week,  a  healthy,  normal 
child  makes  no  response  to  a  loud  sound  behind  him,  there  is  reason  to 
fear  that  he  will  be  deaf  and  dumb  (J:  76). 

As  regards  localization  of  sounds,  the  ear  does  not  render  very  much 
service  in  this,  on  account  of  its  comparative  immobility.  Even  in  the 
adult,  a  sound  made  in  the  room  above  is  with  great  difficulty  dis- 
tinguished from  a  sound  made  in  the  room  below,  unless  some  other 
circumstance  enter  in  to  assist  in  the  determination. 

Champneys'  child,  on  the  fourteenth  day,  turned  his  head  in  the 
direction  of  his  mother's  voice,  but  this  was  probably  due  as  much  to 
feeling  her  breath  upon  his  cheek  as  to  hearing,  since  he  did  not  do  it 
when  her  face  was  turned  in  another  direction.  Leaving  this  observa- 
tion, then,  out  of  account,  I  find  that  the  period  in  which  children  are 
first  observed  to  turn  the  head  in  the  direction  of  sounds,  extends  from 

' "  Nach  einigen  (drei  bis  acht)  Wochen  sieht  man  das  Kind  bei  plotzliehem  Gerausche 
zusammenfahren.  Da  erkennt  mans  klar,  dass  jetzt  auch  fur  die  wahrnehmende  Seele, 
dasHephata!  gesprochen  ist."    "  Kind  und  Welt,"  p.  27. 

2  "Mann  kann  vor  den  Ohren  wachender  Neugeborner  in  den  ersten  Tagen  die  stark- 
sten  disharmonischen  Gerausche  machen,  ohne  dass  sie  davon  beruhrt  werden  (5:  21). 


18  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

the  tenth  week  (»:*»)  (or  the  fifth  week,  according  to  Alcott)  to  the 
seventeenth  week  (u).  One  child  sometimes  turned  towards  a  sound 
in  the  sixteenth  week.  Another,  at  four  months  and  ten  days,  k>  always 
turned  his  head  exactly  in  the  right  direction"  (12).  A  third  turned 
his  head  towards  a  sound  for  the  first  time  in  the  eleventh  week,  and 
by  the  sixteenth  week  this  movement  had  assumed  all  the  certainty  of 
a  reflex  (2:84),  and  still  another,  when  five  months  old,  on  hearing  the 
rumbling  of  the  cars  in  the  street,  knew  to  which  window  to  go  to  look 
for  them  (19).  Schultze  observed  that  active  hearing,  with  attention, 
began  after  the  first  half-year.  Not  only  are  there  these  differences 
among  different  children,  but  in  the  same  child  the  accuracy  of  locali- 
zation becomes  greater  by  exercise.  The  differences  in  time,  noted 
above,  are  doubtless  in  part  due  to  variations  in  the  rapidity  of  the 
physiological  development  of  the  ear. 

By  the  end  of  the  fourth  month  the  normal  child  has  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  understanding  of  the  meaning  of  sounds,  i.  e.,  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  sounds  by  their  timbre.  I  find  here  also  great  differences  In  the 
results  of  the  observations.  Tiedemann's  son  took  notice  of  gestures 
on  the  thirteenth  day.  Words  would  stop  his  tears  or  call  them  forth, 
according  to  the  tone  in  which  they  were  uttered.  Another  child, 
sixteen  days  old,  would  sometimes  leave  off  crying  when  his  mother 
spoke  soothingly  to  him.  At  two  months  he  distinguished  between  the 
loud  bark  of  a  dog  and  a  coaxing  yelp,  being  frightened  by  the  former, 
but  quickly  soothed  by  the  latter.  A  girl  of  three  and  a  half  mouths 
"  knows  when  she  is  being  scolded  "  (6: 29).  Ou  the  other  hand,  out  of 
one  hundred  children  observed,  Dr.  Demme  found  only  two  who,  at 
three  and  a  half  months,  knew  their  parents'  voices  (2:91).  Another 
observer  reports  that  at  two  months  there  was  no  apparent  apprecia- 
tion of  ordinary  sounds,  but  children  of  four  and  a  half  months  some- 
times recognized  a  voice  C20). 

These  differences  are,  no  doubt,  to  some  extent,  due  to  heredity,  and 
to  some  extent  produced  artificially  in  the  life  of  the  individual  by 
exercise.  The  average  child  apparently  begins  to  comprehend  the 
meaning  of  tones  from  the  second  to  the  fourth  month. 

A  very  interesting  point  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  the  child's 
hearing,  is  his  power  to  appreciate  music.  So  intimately  associated  is 
it  with  the  development  of  his  aesthetic  nature,  that  it  deserves  the 
careful  study  of  the  psychologist  and  the  educator. 

There  are  two  chief  sources  of  pleasure  in  music :  the  rhythmical 
movement,  and  the  melody — the  time  and  the  tune.  With  regard  to  the 
first,  it  seems  safe  to  say  that  no  healthy,  normal  child,  after  the  first 
few  weeks,  fails  to  appreciate  rhythmical  movements.  At  sixteen  days 
one  boy  was  soothed  by  the  gentle,  regular  movements  of  the  mother. 
These  first  musical  impressions  have  a  physiological  explanation.  There 
seems  almost  to  be  a  sense  of  rhythm.  The  succession  of  notes  produces 
a  flow  of  blood  to  the  brain,  and  its  energetic  excitation  redounds  in 
lively  sentiments  and  animated  movements.  Thus  music  responds  to 
that  need  of  muscular  activity  so  strong  in  the  child  f*'1**).  The 
social  instinct  also  enters  here :  the  child  takes  more  delight  in  noise 
and  movement  when  someone  is  at  hand  to  participate. 

With  regard  to  the  second  point,  the  opinion  may  safely  be  veutured 
that  no  healthy,  normal  child  is  entirely  lacking  in  musical  u  ear."  I 
find  no  record  of  any  child,  who  has  been  carefully  observed,  being 
utterly  deficient  in  appreciation  of  musical  harmonies.  In  the  vast 
majority  of  cases  the  opposite  is  the  case.  Children  almost  always, 
from  a  very  early  age,  show  a  lively  interest  in  music.  In  one  observed 
case,  a  child  of  one  month  manifested  delight  in  singing  and  playing 
(  8sM5).  Sometimes  children  only  two  weeks  old  have  been  observed  to 
stop  the  motions  of  their  limbs, and  apparently  listen,  when  a  piano  was 


SENSATION.  19 

played  in  another  room  (16).  From  six  or  seven  weeks  onward,  and 
especially  in  the  latter  half  of  the  first  year,  the  child's  pleasure  in 
music  is  often  shown  by  a  sort  of  accompanying  muscular  movements, 
which  he  seems  unable  to  repress.  The  mother's  song  of  lullaby  is 
keenly  appreciated  (*:J»),  and  somewhat  later  is  even  given  back  by 
the  child  in  a  most  charming  infant  warble.  The  emotional  element 
in  the  music  is  often  keenly  distinguished.  Dr.  Brown  of  says  one  of  the 
infants  observed  by  her  in  New  York  city,  that  when  only  five  and  a 
half  months  old,  he  would  cry  when  his  mother  played  a  plaintive  air ; 
but  would  stop  at  once,  and  begin  to  jump  and  toss  his  arms  about  and 
laugh,  if  she  struck  into  a  lively  melody  (19).  There  seems  to  be,  as 
someone  has  said,  a  sympathy  between  the  ear  and  the  voice  which 
antedates  all  experience,  and  which  is  even  to  a  large  extent  independent 
of  normal  brain-endowment.  Even  idiotic  children  (provided  they  are 
not  deaf)  who  can  speak  only  a  few  simple  words  and  syllables,  are 
able  to  sing,  and  in  singing  they  employ  other  words  besides  those 
generally  at  their  command  (so).  While  all  this  is  true,  it  should  also 
be  remembered  that  the  child's  cerebral  and  mental  endowment  is  ex- 
ceedingly plastic,  and  that  consequently  sounds  which  at  first  were 
disagreeable  to  him  soon  become  tolerable  and  even  pleasant.  He 
accommodates  himself  to  all  sorts  of  noises  with  far  greater  facility  than 
the  adult,  and  soon  comes  to  take  great  delight  in  any  sort  of  rude, 
banging,  grating  sounds,  especially  if  they  are  his  own  production. 
Hence  there  is  no  sense  in  the  education  of  which  greater  care  should 
be  taken  than  the  sense  of  hearing.  As  already  said,  probably  all 
normal  children  are  born  with  a  capacity  for  musical  appreciation, 
though  of  course  not  all  in  the  same  degree.  Now  in  the  early  period 
— during  the  first  four  or  five  years  of  life, — it  is  very  easy  to  cultivate 
this  musical  capacity  or  to  destroy  it.  If  the  child  hears,  every  day, 
rasping,  grating  and  discordant  noises,  he  will  come  very  soon  to  like 
these  as  well  as  the  most  harmonious.  It  lies  within  the  power  of 
parents  and  teachers  so  to  cultivate  the  child's  capacity  in  this  respect 
as  to  minister  in  an  incalculable  degree  to  the  happiness  of  his  life  and 
the  purity  of  his  character. f 

III.— TOUCH.     — 

Touch  has  been  called  the  universal  sense,  because,  while  sight,  hear- 
ing, etc.,  have  each  a  special,  local  end-organ,  touch  has  its  end-organs 
in  every  part  of  the  body,  numberless  nerves  of  this  sense  communicat- 
ing with  the  brain  from  every  portion  of  the  skin.  The  importance  of 
the  touch-sense  is,  therefore,  obvious.  Some  have  gone  so  far  as  to  call 
it  the  fundamental  sense,  and  have  endeavored  to  reduce  all  the  others 
to  it.  Without  going  this  far,  we  may  readily  recognize  its  importance 
in  the  mental  development  of  the  child ;  from  recorded  cases  of  children 
who,  from  birth  or  from  an  early  age,  have  been  deprived  of  the  other 
senses,  or  the  most  important  of  them,  and  who  have,  nevertheless, 
almost  by  touch  alone  reached  a  remarkable  degree  of  intellectual  and 
moral  attainment  (31 ) .  The  field  of  the  present  inquiry  is  covered  by 
three  questions : 

(1).  As  to  the  first  beginnings  of  touch  experiences.  (2).  As  to 
the  comparative  delicacy  of  different  parts  of  the  body.  (3).  As  to 
the  education  of  touch  perception. 

(1).  All  observers  concur  in  the  opinion  that  the  sense  of  touch  is 
exercised  to  a  considerable  degree  in  the  foetal  stage  of  existence. 

'"'Comme  l'a  dit  si  bien  le  poete,  Toreille  est  le  chemin  du  cceur.  Envelopper  l'enfant 
d'une  atmosphere  de  sons  doux,  tendres  et  rejouissants,  c'est  travailler  a  son  bonheur 
actuel,  et  c'est  faire  beaucoup  pour  son  humeur  et  sa  morality  futures"  (25: 1ST ). 


20  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

Cabanis  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  sense  of  touch  is  the  only  one 
that  furnishes  the  child  in  the  first  days  with  distinct  perceptions, 
"  probably  because  it  is  the  only  one  that  has  had  any  exercise  before 
birth"  (5*:8). 

Kussmaul  believes  this  sense  is  aroused  in  the  embryonic  period  by 
contact  with  the  surrounding  matrix.  Perez  holds  that  there  are  indis- 
tinct tactile  sensations  during  the  intra-uterine  life.  Preyer  believes 
touch-sensations  are  present  at  this  time,  though  of  far  less  intensity 
than  in  the  subsequent  life.  Sully  speaks  of  touch  as  the  first  sense  to 
manifest  itself.  Erasmus  Darwin  expressed  the  belief  that  the  foetus 
receives  through  this  sense  some  representation  of  its  own  figure,  and 
of  the  uterus  itself.  This  opinion  is  concurred  in  by  nearly  all  the 
authorities  quoted  in  this  connection  here,  and  has  been  placed  beyond 
doubt  by  the  experiments  of  Kussmaul  and  Genzmer  on  prematurely 
born  children,  in  whom  they  found  the  sense  of  touch  already  in  full 
operation  immediately  after  birth,  though  for  a  considerable  time  it  is 
not  accompanied  by  clear  and  definite  objective  reference,  but  is  only  a 
subjective  feeling. 

(2).  Differences  in  sensibility  to  touch  impressions  among  the  different 
parts  of  the  body  are  not  so  great  at  first  as  they  afterwards  become. 
In  the  uterus,  the  surrounding  medium  has  been  homogeneous;  but 
-from  the  time  of  birth  onward,  it  becomes  more  and  more  varied,  so 
that  those  parts  of  the  body  which  are  exposed  to  contact  with  the 
external  world  become  relatively  blunted  in  delicacjT,  while  those 
which  continue  to  be  more  or  less  protected — such  as  the  eye  and  the 
tongue — retain  more  nearly  their  original  sensitiveness.  Nevertheless, 
the  differences  in  delicacy  among  the  different  parts  at  the  very  first  are 
surprisingly  great. 

The  upper  surface  of  the  tongue  is  exceedingly  sensitive.  Kussmaul 
introduced  a  small  glass  rod  into  the  mouths  of  children  just  born, 
eliciting  prompt  responsive  movements,  which  varied  in  char- 
acter according  to  the  part  touched.  When  the  rod  touched  the 
tongue  near  the  tip,  the  lips  at  once  protruded,  the  sides  of  the  tongue 
curled  up  around  the  rod,  and  sucking  movements  followed.  When  the 
rod  came  into  contact  with  the  back  part  of  the  tongue  near  the  root, 
all  the  responsive  movements  —  expression  of  face,  mouth  motions,  etc. 
— indicated  "  nausea."  ^Similar  results  were  obtained  by  Kroner  and 
Genzmer.)  No  doubt  we  have  here  a  sensori-motor  reflex  established 
before  birth.  The  same  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  lips,  which  share  with 
the  tongue  an  extreme  delicacy  from  the  first.  Even  the  lightest  touch 
of  a  feather  produced  sucking  movements  of  the  lips  on  the  sixth  day 
(2:100),  and  gentle  stroking  of  the  lips  produced  the  same  result  on  the 
5th  day  (B:17),  and  even  on  the  first  day  (17),  (B),  C1 ). 

One  of  the  most  sensitive  parts  of  the  body  to  touch  impressions  is  the 
mucus  membrane  which  lines  the  nostrils.  This  was  observed  to  be 
sensitive  on  the  first  day  of  the  child'sufe.  "  Tickling  of  the  inner  sur- 
faces of  the  wings  of  the  nose  with  a  feather  calls  from  children  first  of 
all  winking  of  the  eyelids,  stronger  and  earlier  on  the  tickled  side  than 
on  the  other;  if  the  irritation  be  increased,  the  child  not  only  knits  the 
eyebrows,  but  moves  the  head  and  the  hands,  which  latter  it  carries  to 
the  face  "  (6:18).  It  appears,  however,  from 'the  observations  of  the  same 
authority,  that  this  sensitiveness  of  the  mucus  membrane  is  formed  only 
towards  the  end  of  the  period  of  gestation,  since  similar  experiments 
made  on  children  born  in  the  seventh  mouth  were  without  result. 

Certainly  next  in  order  of  delicacy — if  indeed  they  should  not  have 
been  placed  earlier — come  the  various  parts  of  the  eye :  the  lashes,  the 
conjunctiva  and  the  cornea.  Of  these  three,  the  lashes  are  considered 
by  Kussmaul  and  Kroner  the  most  sensitive  to  touch  impressions.  The 
former  says  :    "  The  eyelashes  are  extraordinarily  sensitive  to  even  the 


SENSATION.  21 

faintest  disturbances.  If  the  child,  when  awake,  has  the  eyes  open,  one 
can  press  with  a  glass  rod  even  to  the  cornea  before  it  will  close  the 
eyes ;  but  should  only  one  of  the  little  lashes  be  disturbed  in  the  least, 
this  closing  of  the  eves  will  take  place  at  once.  The  disturbance  of  the 
eyelids  is  not  so  efficacious  by  far;  it  will  by  no  means  be  answered 
every  time  by  eye-winking,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cilia."  He  goes  on  to 
say  that  if  one  should  blow  through  a  small  tube  of  twisted  paper  upon 
the  face  of  an  infant,  winking  will  take  place  only  when  the  stream  of 
air  has  disturbed  one  of  the  cilia.  Genzmer  and  Preyer  differ  from 
Kussmaul  here,  holding  that  the  cornea  is  more  sensitive  than  the 
lashes.  These  facts  are  interesting  as  bearing  on  the  question  of 
priority  between  sight  and  touch  in  the  eye.  It  has  been  frequently 
noticed  by  competent  observers  (18),  (*)  that  the  child  does  not  for  a 
good  while  blink  when  a  finger  is  thrust  at  the  eye,  provided  it  does  not 
come  into  contact  with  it.  Touch-reflexes  seem,  therefore,  to  be 
developed  earlier  than  sight-reflexes.  — 

If  the  tip  of  the  nose  be  touched,  both  eyes  will  be  shut  tight.  If  one 
side  be  touched,  the  child  will  generally  close  the  eye  on  that  side.  If 
the  irritation  be  increased,  both  eyes  will  be  closed  and  the  head  drawn 
somewhat  back.    This  is  an  inborn  defensive  reflex  (2:104),  (19). 

If  one  tickles  the  palm  of  the  hand  of  a  new-born  child,  the  fingers 
will  close  round  the  object  with  which  it  was  tickled  (5:19),  (2:104),  (fl:11), 
(19).  The  skin  of  the  face  seems  even  more  sensitive  still.  On  tickling 
the  sole  of  the  foot,  active  reflex  movements  follow,  such  as  bending 
the  knees  and  hip-joints,  curling  and  spreading  the  toes,  etc.  The 
reaction  time  is  longer,  however,  in  infants  than  in  adults,  sometimes 
amounting  to  two  seconds.  Slaps  also  are  more  effective  than  pricks, 
some  children  showing  comparative  indifference  to  the  latter.  A  greater 
number  of  nerve  ends  are  stimulated  by  a  slap,  hence  the  more  speedy 
reaction.  The  greater  sensitiveness  of  the  adult  to  sense  impressions  in 
general  is  due  to  his  more  advanced  cerebral  development,  and  not  to 
any  superiority  in  cutaneous  or  nervous  adjustment. 

The  other  parts  of  the  body  are,  speaking  roughly,  sensitive  to  touch 
impressions  in  the  following  order :  The  auditory  canal  (in  the  second 
quarter  of  the  first  year,  the  child  observed  by  Preyer  would  instantly 
stop  crying  and  become  very  quiet,  if  one's  little  finger  were  placed 
gently  in  the  ear  cavity),  forearm,  leg,  shoulder,  breast,  abdomen,  back, 
and  upper  part  of  thigh. 

(3).  The  susceptibility  of  the  sense  of  touch  to  education  is  very 
great,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  attainments  of  those  who  are  born  blind, 
the  proficiency  they  attain  in  reading  by  touch,  etc.  As  a  knowledge- 
giving  sense,  it  stands  very  high,  contributing  much  to  the  child's  first 
knowledge  of  the  external  world,  and,  together  with  sight  and  the  mus- 
cular feelings,  to  his  first  comprehension  of  space  and  time  relations.  It 
aids  greatly  also  in  his  acquirement  of  the  notion  of  self— this  probably 
at  first  through  touching  some  portion  of  his  own  body,  and  then  some 
external  thing,  and  feeling  a  difference  between  the  resulting  sensations. 
But  even  before  active  touch  has  thus  begun,  the  foundations  of  the 
child's  education  are  laid  in  passive  touch  experiences,  which  from  the 
beginning  not  only  yield  him  pleasure  and  pain,  but,  being  more 
frequent  as  well  as  more  varied  in  their  operations,  contribute 
earlier  and  more  largely  than  any  of  the  other  sense  experiences  to  the 
development  of  his  faculties,  and  to  his  gradual  acquaintanceship  with 
the  world  of  objects  by  which  he  is  surrounded.1 

IV.— TASTE. 

According  to  Sigismund,  taste  is  the  first  of  all  the  senses  to  yield 
7v   clear  perceptions,  to  which  memory  is  attached.    Not  only  is  the  exer- 

>On  this  subject  see  Perez,  "  Education  Morale  des  le  Bereeau,"  chap.  V. 


X 


22  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

cise  of  this  sense  connected  from  the  first  with  the  child's  most  primi- 
tive needs  and  their  satisfaction,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that,  even 
in  the  embryonic  stage,  taste  has  been  to  some  degree  aroused  by  swal- 
lowing the  amniotic  fluid  (1:16). 

Numerous  careful  experiments  show  that  the  child  is  capable  of 
bona-fide  sensations  of  taste  in  the  earliest  moments  of  life ;  and  that, 
though  he  is  for  some  time  more  obtuse  and  more  uncertain  in  this 
respect  than  the  adult,  yet  when  a  sapid  object  is  introducted  into  his 
mouth,  the  resulting  sensation  really  takes  place  by  way  of  the  gusta- 
tory bulbs  and  nerves,  and  is  not  merely  a  species  of  touch  sensation, 
as  some  have  held. 

Kussmaul  experimented  on  twenty  children,  during  the  first  day  of 
life — some  of  them  in  the  very  first  moments — with  the  following  results  : 
Solutions  of  sugar  and  of  quinine  being  introduced  into  the  mouth  by 
means  of  a  hair  pencil — the  mixture  being  warmed  so  that  the  feeling 
of  temperature  should  not  affect  the  result — the  children  responded  with 
"  the  same  mimetic  movements  which  we  designate  among  grown  people 
as  the  facial  expressions  of  sweet  and  bitter."  They  responded  to  the 
sugar  by  protruding  the  lips  in  a  spout-like  form,  pressing  the  tongue 
between  them,  sucking  and  swallowing.  On  the  contrary,  when  the 
quinine  was  introduced,  the  visage  was  distorted,  the  eyes  closed,  the 
tongue  protruded,  and  choking  movements  were  made,  accompanied  by 
the  expulsion  of  the  fluid  and  active  secretion  of  saliva.  "  Sometimes 
the  head  was  actively  shaken,  as  in  the  case  of  grown  people  when 
attacked  by  nausea."  These  results  were  obtained  also  in  premature 
children,  showing  that  this  reflex  arc  is  capable  of  performing  its  func- 
tions before  birth.  He  adds,  however,  that  he  found  great  individual 
differences  among  children,  some  being  far  less  responsive  than  others. 
Sometimes  also  the  children  seemed  to  make  a  mistake  at  first,  as  they 
occasionally  responded  to  sugar  by  the  mimetic  movement  for  bitter,  but 
this  was  probably  only  surprise  at  the  new  sensation,  as  they  very  soon 
changed  it  for  the  correct  expression.  He  found  also  by  these  experi- 
ments that  only  the  tip  and  edges  of  the  tongue  represent  the  tasting 
compass,  the  middle  of  the  back  part  yielding  no  sensations  of  taste. 

Genzmer  (9:1S),  experimenting  on  twenty-five  children,  most  of  whom 
were  just  born,  obtained  results  substantially  agreeing  with  those  of 
Kussmaul.  He  noticed,  however,  that  in  many  cases  the  introduction 
of  an  attenuated  solution  of  quinine  was  responded  to  by  suckiug  move- 
ments, while  stronger  solutions  were  rejected  with  the  mimetic  for 
"  bitter,"  showing  that  taste  sensibility  is  weaker  at  this  age  than  in  the 
adult.1 

Preyer  agrees  with  the  above  deductions  in  every  respect,  and  adds: 
"  It  is  certain  from  all  observations  that  the  newly-born  distinguish  the 
sensations  of  taste  that  are  decidedly  different  from  one  another, — the 
sweet,  sour  and  bitter"  (2:119).  His  boy,  on  the  first  day  of  life,  licked 
powdered  cane  sugar,  whereas  he  licked  nothiug  else.  Later,  on  receiv- 
ing a  strange  food,  he  often  shuddered  and  distorted  his  face  merely  on 
account  of  the  novelty  of  the  sensatiou,  for,  in  the  case  of  an  agreeable 
sensation,  he  directly  afterwards  desired  it,  and  received  it  with  an 
expression  of  satisfaction.  He  concludes  that  the  association  of  certain 
mimetic  contractions  of  muscles  with  certain  sensations  of  taste  is 
inborn. 

The  development  of  taste  perception  in  the  infant  is  interesting  and 
important.  The  pleasures  and  pains  of  taste  play  a  large  part  in  his 
early  education.  The  mouth  is  soon  made  the  test  organ  to 
which  all  objects  are  carried,  and  by  which  their  qualities  are 
ascertained.      Preyer's    boy,    on  the    second  day,  took  without  he  si 

'  These  results  are  corroborated  also  by  Kroner,  Fehling  umi  several  others  (17),  (7), 
(20). 


-* 


i) 


SENSATION.  23 

tation  cow's  milk  diluted  with  water,  which,  on  the  fourth  day, 
he  stoutly  refused.  During  his  sixth  month,  he  began  to  refuse  to  take 
the  breast  (which  was  offered  him  only  in  the  night),  because  the 
sweetened  cow's  milk,  which  he  had  taken  in  the  day  time,  was  some- 
what sweeter.  From  this  time  onward,  and  especially  after  weaning, 
his  discrimination  became  much  nicer,  and  by  the  fourth  and  fifth 
years  he  had  become  so  "fastidious"  that  even  the  sight  of  certain 
articles  of  diet  would  call  forth  from  him  the  mimetic  movements  for 
nausea,  choking,  etc. 

Perez  (6:82)  says  the  sense  of  taste  is  very  slightly  developed  in  the 
new-born,  yet  It  exists.  A  child  observed  by  him  distinguished  milk 
from  sweetened  water,  and  sweetened  water  from  plain  water,  by  the 
taste.  Yet  there  are  great  differences  of  gustatory  sensitiveness  among 
children.  In  some  cases,  a  child  of  six  months  has  been  induced  to  take 
bitter  medicine  by  a  change  in  the  color.  On  the  other  hand,  a  child 
of  two  and  a  half  months  refused  its  bottle  because  the  milk  was  not 
sweetened.  Most  children  begin  very  early  to  detect  the  acid  taste  in 
certain  substances1. 

Yet  in  general,  children's  tastes  change  very  easily,  and  hence  are 
highly  susceptible  to  education  in  almost  every  direction.  Moreover, 
there  are  differences  in  the  same  child  at  different  times  :  the  state  of  the 
health,  the  temperature  of  the  food  (which,  according  to  Champneys, 
is  of  more  consequence  than  the  taste  itself),  and  many  other  circum- 
stances entering  in  to  disturb  the  gustatory  equilibrium  (25:ii3). 

V.— SMELL. 

Taste  and  smell  are  so  closely  associated  that  they  might  almost  be 
considered  together.  The  savor  of  substances  depends,  to  a  large 
extent,  on  their  odor.  These  senses  resemble  each  other  in  the  com- 
parative diffuseness  Of  their  perceptions,  and  in  the  fact  that  their 
sensations  are  more  persistent,  and,  therefore,  less  clearly  distinguish- 
able successively  than  those  of  the  higher  senses. 

In  order  to  sensations  of  smell,  there  must  be  air  in  the  nasal  cavities ; 
hence  there  can  be  no  exercise  of  this  sense  before  respiration  begins ; 
none,  therefore,  before  the  beginning  of  the  post-natal  life. 

Careful  tests  upon  new-born  children,  however,  show  that  they  are 
susceptible  to  strong  odors  in  the  first  hours  of  life.  Records  are  at 
hand  of  tests  made  on  about  fifty  children,  most  of  whom  were  less 
than  a  day,  some  only  fifteen  minutes  old.  The  tests  were  made  with 
asafcetida,  aqua  fcetida,  and  oleum  dipelli.  Care  was  taken  to  experi- 
ment on  sleeping  as  well  as  waking  children,  in  order  to  avoid  mistakes 
in  interpreting  the  gestures  and  facial  expressions.  The  result  was 
that  the  children  became  uneasy,  knit  the  eyelids  more  firmly  together, 
contracted  the  muscles  of  the  face,  moved  the  head  and  arms,  and, 
finally,  awoke,  sometimes  even  with  crying.  On  the  removal  of  the 
odor,  they  would  fall  asleep  again.  These  results  were  also  obtained  in 
the  case  of  eight  months  children,  but  not  on  those  of  a  still  more  pre- 
mature birth  (5 ),(»),  (17). 

With  the  child's  growth,  progress  is  normally  made  in  power  of  dis- 
crimination by  the  sense  of  smell,  though  more  slowly  than  in  the  case 
of  the  higher  senses.  A  little  girl  of  eighteen  hours  obstinately  refused 
a  nipple  on  which  a  little  petroleum  had  been  rubbed,  but  readily  took 
the  other.  Another  child  refused  cow's  milk  when  it  was  brought  near 
him.  Another,  at  thirteen  days,  refused  certain  medicines,  being  guided 
solely  by  their  odor  (12).  Decisive  discrimination  of  pleasant  from 
unpleasant  odors,  with  rejection  of  the  latter,  and  appreciation  of  the 
former,  has  been  observed  in  numerous  instances  from  the  early  part  of 

iDr.  Brown  thinks  this  is  the  first  taste  to  be  recognized  (19). 


WT^tt 


24  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

the  second  month  on ;  and  during  the  second  half  of  the  first  year,  this 
discrimination  has  become,  with  some  children,  very  marked  indeed,  a 
lively  enjoyment  of  the  scent  of  flowers  often  being  noticeable  from  this 
time  on  (19),  (»). 

With  all  this,  however,  the  sense  of  smell  is  far  less  acute  in  children 
than  in  adults.  They  often  appear  unaffected  by  odors  which  would  be 
exceedingly  unpleasant  to  the  grown  person.  Further,  their  sensibility 
to  smells  very  quickly  becomes  blunted  by  repetition  or  continuance,  as 
is  the  case,  to  a  less  degree,  with  all  persons.  When  the  experiments 
with  asafcetida,  etc.,  described  above,  were  repeated,  no  responses 
could  be  elicited  after  the  first  or  second  trial.  Even  after  the  child  has 
become  keenly  appreciative  of  odors,  he  seems  utterly  to  lack  thafc  dex- 
terity in  the  management  of  the  organ  which  is  so  noticeable  in  the 
case  of  taste.  Children  well  on  in  the  second  year  of  life  may  be 
observed  to  carry  a  fragrant  flower  to  the  mouth,  —  and  even  into  it  — 
instead  of  to  the  nose.  The  same  awkwardness  is  seen  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  breath.  When  learning  to  smell,  they  invariably  exhale 
with  great  vigor  at  first,  but  require  considerable  practice  before  they 
can  inhale  the  odors  (£). 

Man  seems  greatly  inferior  to  many  of  the  lower  animals  in  regard  to 
smell.  A  kitten,  three  days  old,  "  spat''  at  a  hand  which  had  been  licked 
by  a  dog — a  remarkable  instance  of  the  persistence  and  transmission  of 
what  Mr.  Darwin  calls  ■'  serviceable  associated  movements."  The  keen- 
ness of  scent  in  dogs  and  horses,  and  many  wild  animals,  is  proverbial. 
In  man,  on  the  other  hand,  this  sense  stands  very  low  in  the  knowledge- 
giving  scale.  Even  in  mature  life,  it  gives  but  little  information 
respecting  the  external  world,  and  that  of  an  uncertain  character.  In 
the  child,  it  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  recognition  of  food.  But  it 
may  well  be  that  if  this  sense  were  brought  into  as  constant  requisition 
as  the  sense  of  sight  or  hearing,  and  as  much  care  bestowed  upon  its 
education,  very  important  results  might  take  place  in  the  way  of 
developing  a  smell-sensibility1. 

VI. — TEMPERATURE. 

There  are  two  classes  of  thermic  sensations :  1st,  passive,  subjective 
and  general,  as  when  we  say  "  I  am  cold"  or  "  I  am  warm."  2d,  active, 
objective  and  local,  as  when  we  touch  a  hot  or  a  cold  object  and  pro- 
nounce it  hot  or  cold  (^J50).  Both  are  important  in  the  child's  develop- 
ment, but  the  second  sort  lends  itself  to  experiment  more  readily  than 
the  first. 

The  sense  of  temperature  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  sense  of 
touch ;  for,  though,  like  touch,  it  is  universal,  haviug  its  eud  organs 
scattered  all  over  the  body,  yet  the  feeling  in  the  one  case  is  quite  dis- 
tinct from  that  in  the  other. 

With  regard  to  the  possibility  of  sensations  of  temperature  prior  to 
birth,  Luys  expresses  himself  as  follows :  "  We  know  indeed  that  from 
this  period  (the  fourth  month  of  pregnancy)  the  fu'tus  is  sensitive  to 
the  action  of  cold,  and  that  we  can  develop  its  spontaneous  movements 
by  applying  a  cold  hand  to  the  abdomen  of  the  mother  "  (H:126).  Perez 
also  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  fo'tus  experiences  certain  cutano-thermal 
sensations  from  about  this  time  (6:3).  i'reyer  takes  the  opposite  ground, 
arguing  for  the  homogeneity  of  the  uterine  temperature,  and  the  conse- 
quent absence  of  any  possibility  of  comparing  sensations. 

XAt  all  events,  in  the  newly-born,  the  sense  of  warmth  and  cold 
develops  very  promptly.    The  gradual  cooling,  on  coming  into  contact 

1  Mantegaz/.a  complains  that  we  aid  our  eyes  with  spectacles,  microscopes  and  tele- 
scopeR,  and  our  ears  with  trumpets,  while  the  uose  is  entirely  neglected.  "Die  Hygiene 
der  Sinne." 


SENSATION.  25 

with  the  external  world,  the  atmosphere,  the  clothing,  the  bath,— all 
contribute  to  the  speedy  differentiation  of  thermic  sensations,  and  to  the 
perception  of  temperature.  Genzmer,  in  experimenting  upon  about 
twenty  new-born  children,  found  that  there  was  active  withdrawal  of  the 
parts— palm  of  hand,  sole  of  foot,  cheek,  etc. — to  which  the  cold  object 
was  applied  (9:9).  His  experiments  are  not  entirely  satisfactory,  how- 
ever, since  sufficient  care  was  not  taken  to  exclude  touch  sensations  from 
participating. 

Satisfactory  observations  as  to  the  development  of  the  temperature 
sense  are  very  scarce.  Freyer  found  that  the  warm  bath  was  enjoyed 
almost  from  the  first,  but  the  cold  bath  was  disliked  until  the  child 
learned  by  experience  its  refreshing  effects.  The  lips,  tongue  and  mucus 
membrane  of  the  mouth  were  surprisingly  sensitive  to  warmth  and  cold, 
even  in  the  first  days.  The  child  would  refuse  milk  of  a  temperature 
only  slightly  higher  or  lower  than  that  of  the  mother.  Still,  on  the 
whole,  the  infant  suffers  less  from  extremes  of  temperature  than  the 
adult,  in  whose  case  the  faculty  of  judgment  enters  to  aggravate  the 
sensation. 

An  interesting  point  in  this  connection  is  the  gradual  variation 
between  the  "neutral  point"  in  the  tongue  and  cavity  of  the  mouth,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  external  parts,  such  as  the  hand,  on  the  other. 
In  the  former  it  remains  through  life  almost  the  same  as  before  birth, 
while  in  the  latter  it  gradually  lowers  by  contact  with  the  surrounding 
medium. 


VII.— ORGANIC  SENSATIONS. 

By  this  is  usually  meant  those  comparatively  vague  and  general  feel- 
ings of  comfort  and  discomfort  arising  from  certain  conditions  of  the 
viscera,  as  distinguished  from  definitely  located  feelings  resulting  from 
excitation  of  the  special  sense  organs.  Hunger  and  thirst  may  serve  as 
examples  of  visceral  discomfort,  and  the  feeling  of  satiety  that  follows 
the  taking  of  nourishment  as  an  example  of  visceral  comfort.  We  shall 
also  consider  here  feelings  of  pain  in  general,  whether  produced  by 
external  or  internal  stimuli. 

The  question  of  the  possibility  of  pain  experiences  before  birth  may 
perhaps  be  considered  settled  by  Preyer's  investigations  on  foetal  guinea 
pigs  and  dogs  (see  "Physiology  of  the  Embryo").  He  obtained 
reactions  which  showed  this  sensibility  to  be  present.  The  reactions, 
however,  were  very  much  slower  than  in  the  subsequent  stages  of  life ; 
showing  either  that  the  sensibility  to  pain  is  much  lower  in  the  fcetal 
stage  than  subsequently,  or  that  pain  reflexes  are  not  firmly  established 
at  this  time.  Other  investigators  have  found  indeed  that  in  the  case  of 
the  very  immature  fcetus,  the  prick  of  a  pin  produced  no  response  (9), 
although  in  the  mature  child,  distinct  reactions  took  place,  by  cries  and 
movements,  to  strong  mechanical  or  electrical  stimulation  (5),  (16). 

The  fact  that  the  new-born  child  is  capable  of  pleasure  and  pain 
also  corroborates  the  view  that  his  physiological  apparatus  is  already 
adjusted  before  birth  to  this  sort  of  experience. 

Kussmaul  has  made  some  observations  which  go  to  show  that  very 
soon  after  birth,  from  the  sixth  hour  on,  but  varying  much  in  different  , 
children,  the  infant  "is  accustomed  to  betray  distinctly  that  it  is  visited  \i 
by  a  sensation  which  we  must  interpret  as  hunger  or  thirst,  probably  a 
mixture  of  both."  This  feeling  is  expressed  by  uneasy  motions  of  the 
head  and  hands,  sucking  movements  and  crying.  One  child,  in  the 
sixth  hour  of  her  life,  would  turn  her  head  with  surprising  quickness, 
first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other,  in  order  to  take  into  the  mouth 
and  suck  the  finger  with  which  the  observer  stroked  her  on  each  side  of 


^ 


26  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

her  face  in  succession,  though  he  took  care  that  in  stroking  the  finger 
should  not  touch  her  lips  (6:28),  (9:17). 
j  Preyer  observes  that  hunger  and  thirst  assert  themselves  in  sucking 
movements  from  the  first.  Very  soon  the  cry  of  hunger  is  distinguish- 
able from  the  cry  of  pain,  being  carried  on  with  more  intervals  and  in  a 
lower  tone,  while  the  tongue  is  held  in  a  peculiar  manner,  being  drawn 
back  and  spread  out.  The  hungry  infant  he  also  observed  to  move  its 
head  from  side  to  side  in  a  way  not  seen  in  any  other  circumstances. 

t Gradually  the  child  becomes  relatively  less  absorbed  in  the  satisfaction 
of  hunger.  From  the  fifth  month,  he  can  be  diverted  from  eating  by  new 
noises  and  movements.  From  the  tenth  month,  his  eating  is  not  so  hur- 
ried and  greedy.  This  is  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  at  this  age  he 
takes  more  food  at  a  time,  the  stomach  being  very  much  larger  than  at 
first  (2:162). 

For  the  rest,  but  few  observations  have  been  made.  The  child 
experiences  organic  sensations  of  pleasure  and  pain  (the  pain  possibly 
predominating  in  the  earliest  period)  in  connection  with  the  digestive, 
respiratory  and  circulatory  processes :  pleasure  in  their  normal  func- 
tioning, pain  when  the  organs  are  fatigued  or  diseased.  Pleasures  in 
general  are  expressed  by  the  widely  open  and  "  swimming  "  eyes  by  the 
,  smile,— which,  according  to  Darwin,  occurred  for  the  first  time  as  a 
real  smile  on  the  forty-fifth  day,— and  by  "  crowing,"  joyful  tones  of 
voice;  pains  by  tightly  closed  eyes,  mouth  drawn  down  at  the  corners, 
and  later  by  the  quadrangular  form  of  the  mouth  in  crying,  while  the 
cry  itself  varies  according  to  the  cause.  The  child  is  much  more  easily 
fatigued  than  the  adult,  and  during  the  first  few  days  passes  most  of 
the  time  in  sleep. 


VIII.— MUSCULAR    FEELINGS. 

We  assume  that  in  the  normal  condition  all  muscular  movements  are 
accompanied  by  muscular  feelings.  It  is  a  sort  of  "  internal  touch" 
(25:i«),  gprea(i  an  over  the  body,  and  intimately  associated  with  locomo- 
tion and  prehension,  with  expansion  and  contraction,  with  pressure, 
weight,  resistance,  etc.  It  also  includes  the  "  feeling  of  the  state  of 
the  muscles  when  at  rest."  So  closely  connected  with  the  child's 
activity,  its  bearing  on  the  rise  of  will  is  obvious. 

That  the  child's  muscles  are  called  into  play  during  the  later  months 
of  his  ante-natal  life,  in  a  great  variety  of  movements,  is  so  fully  estab- 
lished as  to  require  here  only  a  passing  word.  It  has  been  supposed  by 
some  that  the  fcetus  is  incited  to  muscular  movements  by  the  tedium  of 
his  unchanged  position.  It  seems  better,  however,  to  suppose  that  now, 
as  at  a  later  time,  there  is  an  instinctive  necessity  for  movement.  The 
child  is  exceedingly  active.  To  move  his  muscles  is  for  him  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  and  the  wisest  methods  in  child  training  are  those  which 
recognize  this  fact,  and,  instead  of  repressing  his  activity,  direct  it  into 
the  best  channels. 

Though  muscular  feelings  are  present  thus  early,  they  are  probably 
very  vaguely  apprehended  by  the  child  during  the  first  month  of  his 
life  (6:86).  By  the  end  of  the  third  month,  however,  a  vast  number  of 
these  feelings  have  become  associated  with  visual  sensations,  by  means 
of  co-ordinated  movements  of  the  neck,  arms  and  eyes.  About  this 
time  also  begins  the  discernment  of  weight,  though  the  appreciation 
and  comparison  of  different  weights  are  probably  later  attainments. 
The  healthy  child  experiences  the  keenest  pleasure  in  the  exercise  of 
his  muscles.  One  observed  case  may  stand  for  many.  A  little  boy,  in 
his  fourth  month,  was  observed  to  hold  his  toy  rabbit  up  by  the  ears, 
crowing  proudly,  in  evident  enjoyment  of  the  effort  (19).    It  is  likely,  as 


4- 


SENSATION.  27 

Ferrier  says,  that  the  muscular  feeling  of  effort,  by  which  weight  is  dis- 
cerned, is  first  discriminated  in  connection  with  the  movements  of 
respiration. 

From  about  the  middle  of  the  first  year,  the  healthy  child  develops  a 
remarkable  propensity  to  seize,  lift,  pull,  and  otherwise  handle  all 
objects  that  come  within  his  reach.  This  is  to  be  attributed  partly  to 
natural  curiosity,  but  more  particularly  at  this  early  period  to  the  con- 
stitutional need  of  exercising  the  muscles,  to  which  he  yields  almost 
unconsciously.  As  soon  as  he  is  able  to  walk,  the  range  of  his  muscle- 
activity  is  vastly  extended,  and  from  this  time  forth,  his  experiences  in 
this  connection  play  a  large  and  important  part  in  his  education1. 


lFor  further  remarks  on  muscular  movement,  vide  infra,  chap.  IV. 


CHAPTER  II.— EMOTION. 

The  principle  of  transformation,  which  is  exemplified  in  almost  every 
fact  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapter,  is  still  more  clearly  illustrated  in 
those  departments  of  the  mental  life  which  we  have  yet  to  consider.  In 
studying  the  emotions  of  children,  for  example,  we  shall  observe  that 
in  the  earlier  stages,  when  intellectual  comprehension  (which  is  essen- 
tial to  the  emotions  of  the  grown-up  person)  can  by  no  means  be  pre- 
sumed to  be  present,  yet  the  outward  manifestation  —  movement,  facial 
expression,  etc.— resembles  very  closely  that  of  the  adult,  or  the  older 
child.  It  seems  unphilosophical  to  class  the  phenomena  of  these  two 
periods  together  under  a  common  name,  and  our  only  excuse  for  doing 
so  is  that  one  shades  off  so  gradually  into  the  other  that  to  establish  a 
rigid  line  of  distinction  seems  impossible.  We  shall,  therefore,  consider 
both  the  stages  under  the  head  of  emotion,  only  premising  that,  in  the 
absence  of  active  thought,  these  appearances  can  only  be  accounted  for 
as  the  response  of  the  organism  to  pleasurable  or  painful  feeling.  But 
later,  when  the  mind  asserts  itself,  and  the  human  being  begins  to  under- 
stand the  cause  of  the  feeling,  and  to  interpret  the  gestures  of  others 
as  the  expression  of  their  feelings,  emotion,  in  the  strict  sense  of  that 
word,  arises.  The  same  physiological  expressions  continue  to  be 
employed,  because  through  habit  they  have  become  easier  than  any 
others,  while  their  employment  in  the  first  stage  may  be  accounted  for 
on  the  principle  of  heredity. 

ij— FEAR. 

These  remarks  are  specially  true  in  the  case  of  fear,  whose  manifesta- 
tion is  at  first  quite  independent  of  thought,  and  of  specific  experiences 
(as  in  the  case  cited  by  Perez  of  convulsive  tremblings,  even  in  the 
foetus  in  certain  circumstances),  but  which,  as  a  true  mental  phenome- 
non, requires  both  these  for  its  full  development. 

1  We  have,  theu,  two  stages  of  fear :  First,  the  fear  that  is  independent 
of  hurtful  experiences,  and  must  be  considered  hereditary ;  aud  secondly, 
the  fear  that  is  produced  by  a  mental  image  of  the  danger.  The  former 
is  very  marked  in  the  lower  animals.  When  Spalding  let  loose  a  hawk 
suddenly  over  a  brood  of  young  chickens  in  a  meadow,  they  immediately 
"crouched"  and  hid  themselves  in  the  grass,  while  the  mother  hen 
attacked  the  foe  with  tremendous  violence,- though  neither  she  nor  her 
brood  had  ever  seen  a  hawk  before.  A  dove,  let  loose  in  the  same  way, 
produced  no  such  result.  So  the  child,  when  only  a  few  weeks  old,  will 
start  and  cry  at  any  sudden  sound  or  strange  sight,  quite  independently 
of  experience.  He  shrinks  from  cats  and  dogs,  without  ever  having 
been  injured  by  them  ;  he  is  afraid  of  falling,  before  he  has  ever  fallen, 
and  trembles  at  the  sight  of  large  and  majestic  objects,  such  as  the 
ocean,  when  he  looks  upon  them  for  the  first  time  (M:>««).  Many  infanta 
cry  when  it  thunders,  though  they  do  not  at  all  understand  what  it  is, 
and  experience  a  shock—just  as  some  nervous  adults  do  when  a  door 
closes  with  a  bang,  or  an  object  falls  upon  the  floor.  Thev  contract  all 
the  muscles  of  the  body  nervously  when  suddenly  lowered  through  the 


r 


EMOTION.  29 

air  in  the  nurse's  arms  (B).  They  sometimes  shrink  from  people 
dressed  in  black,  and  from  those  who  speak  in  deep,  sepulchral  tones 
(i:164).  A  little  girl,  slightly  over  two  months  old,  appeared  terrified  on 
beholding  a  distorted  face ;  she  cried  out,  and  sought  protection  in  her 
mother's  arms.  "It  was  long  before  she  was  restored  to  her  accustomed 
tranquillity — the  vision  reappeared  in  memory,  haunted  her  fancy  and 
brought  tears  to  her  eyes"  (16).  A  child  of  seven  months  seemed  afraid 
when  a  fan  was  opened  and  closed  before  him ;  another  at  a  loud  snor- 
ing noise  which  he  heard  for  the  first  time  (u).  A  boy  of  ten  months 
was  frightened  by  a  squeaking  toy ;  he  soon,  however,  became  accus- 
tomed to  the  sound,  and  even  took  pleasure  in  making  it  squeak  himself 

In  this  early  period,  most  children  seem  more  afraid  of  sounds  than  of 
****" sights.  Sigismund  says  fear  develops  from  the  time  of  the  development 
of  the  ear  (1:U3).  They  are  usually  afraid  of  thunder,  but  scarcely  ever 
of  lightning.  A  child  who  started  nervously  when  a  box  of  comfits  was 
shaken  before  him,  made  no  such  sign  when  the  empty  box  was  shaken 
(u).  One  may  thrust  with  the  finger,  as  we  have  seen,  quite  close  to 
the  open  eye  of  an  infant,  without  causing  him  to  blink,  while,  if  one 
speaks  to  him  in  a  harsh  or  loud  tone,  he  will  cry.  A  little  child  has  been 
known  to  lie  smiling  in  his  cradle,  surrounded  by  the  flames  of  the 
burning  house ;  but  when  rescued,  has  broken  out  into  loud  cries  of  fear 
at  the  noise  of  the  engines  and  the  shouting  of  the  assembled  crowd. 

Eye-fear,  however,  soon  develops,  and  strange  sights  as  well  as 
sounds  startle  and  frighten  the  child.  We  have  a  very  ancient  exam- 
ple of  this  in  the  Iliad,  where  Hector  is  described  as  bidding  his  wife 
and  child  farewell  before  going  out  to  the  fight.  When  he  reached  out 
his  arms  for  the  child,  the  latter  cried  out,  and  hid  his  face  in  the  bosom 
of  the  nurse,  frightened  by  his  father's  gleaming  bronze,  and  the  helmet 
crested  with  horse-hair.  Sigismund  describes  his  child  as  showing  fear 
of  a  sleeve  board,  by  association  with  the  glowing  "  goose,"  and  also  at 
the  sparks  from  a  blacksmith's  forge.  There  are  also  touch-fears.  The 
little  girl  F.  started  back  when  her  hand  came  into  contact  with  some 
soft  fur.  The  suddenness  of  the  sensation  apparently  had  more  to  do 
with  her  fear  than  the  quality  of  the  feeling,  for  she  soon  lost  her  fear 
of  this  article. 

Quite  different  from  all  this  is  the  fear  shown  by  a  child  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  object  which  has,  on  some  former  occasion,  caused  him  pain- 
ful feeling.  Preyer's  boy,  at  nineteen  months,  screamed  at  the  sight  of 
the  cold  bath  and  sponge,  from  which  he  had,  on  a  previous  day, 
received  unpleasant  sensations.  Here  the  idea  causes  the  fear,  memory 
co-operates,  and  child  has  become  susceptible  to  fear  in  the  strict  sense. 
This  probably  might  have  been  observed  earlier. 

The  plasticity  of  the  child's  nature  renders  him  susceptible  to  impres- 
*  sions  which,  in  many  cases,  remain  with  him  through  life.  Fear  of  the 
dark,  fear  of  the  woods,  fear  of  being  alone,  are  often  inculcated  by 
unwise  nurses  and  teachers,  and  remain,  in  some  cases,  ineradicably 
fixed  in  the  constitution.  Mosso  tells  of  an  old  soldier  who,  pn  being 
asked  what  had  been  his  greatest  fear,  replied  :  "  I  am  nearly  seventy 
years  of  age.  I  have  looked  death  in  the  face  many  times,  and  never  felt 
fear ;  but  whenever  I  pass  a  little  church  in  the  shadow  of  a  wood,  or  a 
deserted  chapel  in  the  mountains,  I  always  remember  an  abandoned 
oratory  in  my  native  village,  and  am  afraid.  I  look  around,  as  if  I  were 
about  to  see  the  corpse  of  a  murdered  man  which  I  saw  in  my  infancy, 
and  with  which  an  old  servant  threatenened  to  shut  me  up  in  order  to 
quiet  me." 

The  child  from  three  to  seven  years  is  very  liable  to  have  dreams  of 
exceeding  vividness,  and  if  he  wake  suddenly  out  of  a  deep  sleep,  his 
face  will  often  bear  signs  of  great  fear,  as  though  he  saw  an  apparition. 


30  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

The  eyes  stare  straight  ahead,  he  fails  to  recognize  persons,  he  breaks 
out  into  perspiration,  his  heart  beats  hard  and  his  limbs  tremble.  These 
nocturnal  fears  may  become  so  strong  as  to  cau3e  veritable  attack 3  of 
epilepsy  (82). 

Sometimes  a  new  fear  is  developed  by  sickness.  Some  children  seem 
morbidly  timid  and  fearful,  while  others  seldom  show  signs  of  fear  In 
any  form.  As  the  child's  education  progresses,  his  fear  increases  ln*some 
directions,  and  decreases  in  others ;  as  he  learns,  on  the  one  hand,  that 
certain  objects  which  he  supposed  harmless  are  really  harmful,  and  on 
the  other,  that  some  which  he  at  first  esteemed  dangerous,  will  do  him  no 
injury.  In  other  words,  it  is  only  a  commonplace  to  say  that  fear  is  both 
increased  and  diminished  by  advancing  knowledge.  The  man  is  more 
afraid  of  a  loaded  pistol,  and  less  afraid  of  an  empty  one,  than  the  child. 

II.— ANGER. 

Anger  (which,  according  to  Plato,  is  one  of  the  natural  attributes  of 
the  soul,  and  closely  akin  to  courage)  is  evil  only  in  its  abuse.  In  a 
moderate  degree,  it  is  the  iodex  of  a  just  and  sensitive  temperament,  and 
a  force  which  education  should  direct  and  not  annihilate.  "In  my 
opinion,"  says  Perez,  "a  child  of  ten  months  who  does  not  weep  or  cry  at 
least  four  or  five  times  a  day,  who  is  not  amused,  and  who  is  not 
irritated,  like  a  savage,  or  a  young  animal,  by  a  mere  trifle  (u  pour  une 
bagatelle"),  is  lacking  in  sensibility  and  in  intelligence,  and  will,  no 
doubt,  be  lacking  in  character, — bury  him;  he  is  dead."  "  It  is  neces- 
sary," he  goes  on  to  say,  speaking  of  the  education  of  the  child  in  this 
regard,  "  to  surround  the  cradle  with  an  atmosphere  of  sweet  serenity, 
but  it  is  not  always  necessary  to  hide  anger.  Just  anger  should  be 
shown,  but  with  moderation"  (25:165), 

It  is  difficult  to  say  when  the  child  first  feels  anger,  because  its  outward 
signs  are  at  first  very  easily  confounded  with  those  of  pain  or  distress. 
Mr.  Sully  thought  he  saw  manifestations  of  anger  at  the  very  outset  of 
life,  in  a  little  girl,  who,  "in  refusing  to  accept  the  nutriment  provided 
by  nature,  showed  all  the  signs  of  passionate  wrath."  Mr.  Darwin 
noticed,  in  a  child  eight  days  old,  frowning  and  wrinkling  of  the  skin 
around  the  eyes  before  crying;  but  he  adds,  "  this  may  have  been  pain 
and  not  anger."  In  the  third  month,  he  thought  he  observed  signs  of 
real  anger,  and  in  the  fourth  month  he  had  no  doubt  about  it,  for  the 
blood  rushed  into  the  face  and  scalp.  Tiedemann's  son  gave  evidence 
of  anger  in  the  second  month  by  actively  pushing  awajr  the  disagree- 
able object.  By  the  eighth  month,  he  was  quite  capable  of  violent  anger 
and  jealousy.  Perez  believes  he  has  seen  signs  of  impatience  at  the  end 
of  the  first  month,  if  not  earlier ;  and,  in  the  second  mouth,  real  fits  of  pas- 
sion, pushing  away  distasteful  objects,  frowning,  reddening,  trembling 
and  weeping  (66G).  At  six  months,  children  will  scream  if  their  toys 
are  taken  away,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  first  year,  anger  sometimes 
exhibits  itself  in  revengeful  actions  hurtful  to  themselves,  such  as  beat- 
ing a  chair,  etc.  (20).  A  child  of  seven  months  screamed  with  rage 
because  a  lemon  slipped  out  of  his  hand ;  and  at  eleven  mouths,  if  a 
wrong  plaything  were  given  him,  he  would  push  it  away  and  beat  it  (u). 

Up  to  a  certain  age,  almost  all  children  are  exceedingly  irascible,  and 
I  know  of  no  particular  in  which  tjhe  familiar  analogy  of  the  child  to  the 
savage  is  more  strikingly  shown,  j  The  child  is  a  little  savage.  I  His  will 
and  reason  are  weak,  his  passions  are  strong,  comparatively  speaking, 
and  he  is  ruled  by  his  feelings.  So  it  is  with  savage  races.  They  are 
proverbially  passionate  (**) ;  and  the  progressive  effects  of  civilization 
upon  a  race,  leading  them  gradually  to  control  the  impetuous  and 
unreasonable  rage  which  characterized  the  earlier  stages  of  their  civil- 
ization, is  strikingly  analogous  to  the  wise  training  of  the  human  being 
from  the  irascibility  of  the  child  to  the  calmness  and  moderatiou  of  the 
educated  man. 


EMOTION.  31 

III. — SURPRISE,   ASTONISHMENT,    CURIOSITT. 

Surprise  and  astonishment  are  closely  related  to  fear;  novelty  of 
impression  and  failure  to  understand  being  the  underlying  causes  in 
all  three1. 

Surprise  and  astonishment  are  not  identical.  The  former  may  be 
described  as  an  active  state,  the  latter  as  a  passive  one.  The  child  who 
is  only  surprised  maintains  control  of  his  muscles,  and  examines  the 
strange  object  with  the  closest  attention,  while  the  astonished  child 
suddenly  loses  volitional  control,  and  remains  fixed  in  the  attitude  in 
which  the  strange  impression  overtook  him,  with  wide  open  mouth  and 
eyes.  In  the  one  case  there  is  activity  and  movement,  in  the  other  a 
sort  of  paralysis. 

Surprise  has  been  observed  in  a  child  one  week  old,  who  stared  at  his 
own  fingers  with  great  attention.  Doubtless  he  had  never  noticed  them 
before  (2).  From  this  time  onward,  wonder  is  constantly  manifested 
at  pictures  on  the  wall,  sunbeams  dancing  on  the  floor,  the  fire  crackling 
on  the  hearth,  and  especially  at  the  movements  of  animate  beings.  The 
infant  gazes  long  and  steadily  at  these  strange  phenomena  (1S).  A  little 
girl  of  less  than  a  month,  on  being  taken  down  stairs  into  new  quarters, 
stared  round  in  great  wonder  for  a  time,  but  this  soon  passed  away  (16). 

Astonishment  makes  its  appearance  later.  The  following  are  Preyer's 
observations  on  this  point :  In  the  twenty-second  week,  the  child  was 
struck  with  astonishment  when  his  father  suddenly  appeared  and  spoke 
to  him  while  they  were  riding  in  a  railway  carriage.  In  his  sixth  and 
seventh  months,  the  same  thing  occurred  at  the  sight  of  a  stranger  in 
the  room.  The  child's  eyes  opened  wide,  his  lower  jaw  dropped,  and 
his  body  became  motionless.  In  the  eighth  and  ninth  months,  these 
symptoms  were  still  more  pronounced,  but  it  was  noticed  that  astonish- 
ment was  manifested  generally  at  sights  and  sounds,  and  not  at  impres- 
sions of  taste  and  smell.  The  child  manifested  astonishment  at  the 
opening  and  shutting  of  a  fan  (31st  week) ;  at  the  imitation  of  the 
voices  of  animals  (34th  week)  ;  at  a  strange  face  (44th  week)  ;  at  a  new 
sound  (52d  week),  and  at  a  lighted  lantern  seen  on  awaking  (58th 
week).  Along  with  the  gestures  described,  there  was  sometimes  the 
sound  of  "  ah,"  made  by  involuntary  expiration  of  breath.  By  the  end 
of  the  second  year,  these  signs  of  astonishment  became  more  rare,  as  the 
child  grew  more  accustomed  to  strange  sense-impressions. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  peculiar  manner  of  expressing  this 
emotion,  as  well  as  most  of  the  others,  is  entirely  original  with  the  child 
himself.  He  expresses  astonishment  in  this  way  before  he  has  had  any 
opportunity  of  imitating  the  gestures  of  others.  These  gestures,  there- 
fore, must  be  the  result  of  instinctive  tendencies,  which,  by  virtue  of 
heredity,  have  become  fixed  in  the  human  race,  as  they  are  everywhere 
the  same  (85). 

M.  Egger  emphasizes  the  close  relationship  between  the  feeling  of 
wonder  and  the  religious  sentiment,  and  holds  that  the  child  is  by 
nature  predisposed  to  religious  ideas,  whose  germs  he,  in  fact,  brings 
into  the  world  with  him  (36).  M.  Perez,  on  the  other  hand  following 
Spencer,  maintains  that  there  is  no  innate  predisposition  in  the  child  to 
look  beyond  the  natural  to  the  supernatural,  and  that,  apart  from  train- 
ing and  example,  the  religious  ideas  would  never  take  root  in  his  mind. 
In  the  absence  of  conclusive  evidence  on  the  point,  all  opinions  must  be 
merely  hypothetical.  It  may,  however,  be  suggested  that  if  the 
iamiliar  analogy  between  the  infancy  of  the  individual  and  that  of  the 
race  is  to  hold  here,  we  must  accept  M.  Egger's  position,  since  almost 

1"  The  most  powerful  agent  in  the  development  of  the  understanding  at  the  begin- 
ning is  astonishment,  together  with  the  fear  that  is  akin  to  it."  Preyer.  "  Sometimes 
wonder  passes  into  awe,  or  even  fear."    Stilly.    * 


32  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

all  savage  races  are  deeply  religious,  abounding  in  ideas  of  the  super- 
natural. 

Closely  allied  to  the  sentiment  of  wonder  is  that  of  curiosity.  This  is 
a  natural,  spontaneous  tendency,  which  might  perhaps  be  more  fittingly 
classed  under  the  head  of  intellect  but  for  the  fact  that,  in  the  very 
young  child,  its  essential  character  is  feeling.  It  consists  of  a  sort  of 
chronic  hunger  for  new  sensations,  which  impels  the  child  constantly 
to  handle,  examine,  taste,  and  otherwise  experiment  upon  all  objects 
that  come  within  his  reach.  The  little  boy  R.  used  to  try  to  untie  every 
parcel  that  was  brought  in.  It  is  a  purely  sensuous  impulse  at  first, 
but  with  the  expansion  of  the  intellect,  it  is  transformed  into  the  pure 
desire  to  know.  It  permeates  the  play  of  the  child,  which,  as  Sigis- 
mund  says,  is  like  the  experimentation  of  the  scientist,  by  which  he 
elicits  from  nature  the  answers  to  his  questions.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
powerful  factors  in  the  child's  development,  and  should  be  guided  into 
right  channels,  rather  than  discouraged,  by  the  educator. 

Tiedemann  believed  curiosity  was  developed  in  his  son  in  his  second 
month ;  the  eyes  made  an  effort  to  follow  a  new  or  curious  object. 
Perez  saw  evidences  of  curiosity  almost  from  the  beginning,  and  at  two 
months  the  child  "  would  stretch  out  his  hand,  and  turn  his  eyes  and  ears 
towards  objects  affecting  his  senses.  At  three  months  he  would  seize 
objects  within  reach,  and  shake  them  about  to  amuse  himself."  From 
this  time  on,  and  especially  from  the  time  he  begins  to  walk,  everything 
within  reach  becomes  the  object  of  constant  study.  The  acquisition  of 
language  adds  greatly  to  his  resources  in  this  respect.  "  His  little 
voice,  a  hundred  times  in  an  hour,  expresses  a  desire,  or  asks  a  ques- 
tion, and  that,  not  so  much  through  need  of  knowing  what  things  are, 

as  through  the  appetite  for  fresh  and  new  sensations.    So 

powerful  does  this  impulse  become  that  sometimes  the  child  is  sad,  or 
even  sick,  if  it  be  not  gratified  "  (25:203). 

M.  Taine  (37)  calls  attention  to  the  significant  circumstance  that  this 
curiosity,  which  is  so  powerful  a  force  in  child  life,  is  not  found  in  the 
lower  animals.  "Any  one  may  observe  that  from  the  fifth  or  sixth 
month,  children  employ  their  whole  time  for  two  years  or  more  in  making 
physical  experiments.  No  animal,  not  even  the  cat  or  dog,  makes  this 
constant  study  of  all  bodies  within  its  reach.  All  day  long  the  child  of 
whom  I  speak — 12  months  old — touches,  feels,  turns  about,  lets  drop, 
tastes,  and  experiments  upon,  everything  she  gets  hold  of,  whatever  it 
may  be — ball,  doll,  coral  or  plaything.  When  once  it  is  sufficiently 
known,  she  throws  it  aside ;  it  is  no  longer  new ;  she  has  nothing  further 
to  learn  from  it,  and  so  has  no  further  interest  in  it."  It  will  be  noticed 
here  that  Taine  assigns  a  larger  part  to  the  intellectual  than  does  Perez. 
He  says  physical  need  and  greediness  count  for  nothing.  It  is  pure 
curiosity.  "It  seems  as  if,  in  her  little  brain,  every  group  of  percep- 
tions was  tending  to  complete  itself,  as  in  that  of  a  child  who  makes  use 
of  language."  But  the  little  girl  observed  by  Taine  was  a  year  old,  and 
by  that  time,  no  doubt,  curiosity  was  beginning  to  assume  more  of  an 
intellectual  character. 

IV.— ESTHETIC   FEELINGS. 

As  early  as  the  forty-fifth  day,  Mr.  Darwin  noticed  a  real  smile  of 
pleasure,  "which  must  have  had  a  mental  origin."  It  was  observed 
when  the  infant  was  looking  at  his  mother,  and  also  during  the  act  of 
nursing;  and  was  quite  different  from  the  so-called  smiles  which  had 
been  seen  prior  to  that  time,  in  being  accompanied  by  a  more  intelligent 
expression,  and  by  the  sparkling  and  "  swimming"  of  the  eyes. 

It  is  not  to  be  presumed  that  every  laugh  of  the  young  child  proceeds 
from  a  comprehension  of  the  humorous.    The  first  laugh  is  probably— 


EMOTION.  33 

like  the  first  vocal  utterances — only  the  spontaneous  functioning  of  the 
organism.  Yet  it  is  maintained  by  careful  observers  that  the  sense 
of  fun  is  present  in  some  children  three  months  old  (u).  About 
this  age  they  may  be  greatly  amused  by  such  little  games  as 
throwing  a  pinafore  over  the  head  and  suddenly  withdrawing 
it,  and  by  the  familiar  gambols  of  hide-and-peek.  Later  they  show 
great  pleasure  at  being  carried  on  one's  shoulder,  swung  about  in  the 
air,  or  tossed  up  to  the  ceiling.  They  laugh  most  heartily  while  the  fun 
lasts,  and  are  very  unwilling  that  it  should  stop  (c). 

Something  has  already  been  said  on  the  subject  of  musical  appreciation 
in  children.    Mr.  Darwin,  who  observed  in  his  child  a  fondness  for  the 
piano  as  early  as  the  fourth  month,  considers  the  feeling  of  pleasure  in 
music  as  the  first  of  the  aesthetic  sentiments,  unless  the  appreciation  of 
bright  colors  comes  earlier.    Another  child,  at  five  months,  showed 
signs  of  pleasure  when  singing  was  going  on,  and  even  kept  a  sort  of 
time  with  his  body,  but  was  indifferent  to  whistling   (12).    Another 
observer  places  the  pleasure  in  musical  sounds  as  early  as  the  second 
month  (2),  and  in  another  case  the  child  was  observed  at  eleven  weeks 
to  pucker  up  his  lip  a  little  when  the  piano  was  being  played  (c) .    I  have 
frequently  observed  this  fondness  for  music  at  a  later  age,  when  the  child 
will  crowd  close  to  the  piano,  and  show  his  appreciation  by  rocking  his 
body  to  and  fro.  Appreciation  of  expression  in  music  is,  however,  almost 
entirely  lacking  at  this  time,  and  requires  education  to  develop  it. 
i        Sense  of  Material  Beauty .    The  child  at  first  confuses  the  beautiful  with 
what  is  pleasant.    Animated  movement  at  the  sight  of  beautiful  things 
is  at  first,  no  doubt,  only  response  to  pleasant  feeling.    There  is  no 
understanding  of  form,  color,  etc.,  as  beautiful  or  otherwise.    This 
pleasure,  in  certain  sensations,  however,  is  one  of  the  foundation  stones 
upon  which  the  aesthetic  sense  of  material  beauty  is  afterwards  to  be 
*    built   («2:to).      From  about  the  eighth  month   C33),   there  have  been 
observed  the  beginnings  of  this  feeling  in  the  pleasure  shown  bv  the 
child  in  personal  adornment.    But  even  now  the  aesthetic  and  the 
sensuous  are  blended  in  the  pleasure  a  child  feels  in  the  new  dress  or 
hat.     "  Pretty  "  and  "  good  "  are  interchangeable  terms  in  his  mind.  At 
*"*-    13  months  he  will  snatch  at  hap-hazard  among  a  heap  of  toys,  seeming 
not  to  discriminate  at  all  among  them  as  to  beauty ;  and,  at  a  much  later 
period,  a  child  taken  out  to    the  country  gives  no    evidence  of  any 
appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  the  landscape,  but  is  attracted  rather  by 
some  new  or  strange  object — especially  if  it  be  an  animal,  or  something 
that  moves.    Symmetry  in  form  and  harmony  in  colors  make  but  little 
impression  on  him.  Here,  as  in  music,  be  demands  quantity  rather  than 
quality,  movement  rather  than  expression.    Yet  these  words  must  not 
be  understood  as  denying  to  the  young  child  all   aesthetic  feeling. 
Beautiful  objects,  if  they  are  not  too  large,  nor  too  distant,  please  him. 
He  is  charmed  by  the  pretty  butterfly  and  the  pretty  flower;  he  is 
greatly  attracted  by  the  human  face,  and  by  the  expression  of  the 
human  eye. 

The  dramatic  instinct  is  very  strong  in  childhood,  though  stronger  and 
earlier  in  some  children  than  in  others.  Children  are  born  actors. 
Their  lively  imagination  and  strong  hereditary  tendency  to  imitation, 
lead  them,  even  before  the  first  year  of  their  life  has  gone  (6=278)^  t0 
perform  many  curious  movements  and  gestures.  In  their  plays,  children 
constantly  personify,  represent,  dramatize,  assume  characters,  and 
assign  fictitious  characters  to  other  persons  and  things  (47).  An  eminent 
teacher  in  Toronto  assures  me  that  his  three  children,  in  their  play, 
almost  always  address  each  other  by  assumed  names,  and  the  play  is 
carried  on  in  make-believe  characters,  which  are  dropped  as  soon  as  the 
play  is  over,  and  never  referred  to  at  any  other  time1. 

1  It  seems  best  to  postpone  any  further  remarks  on  this  subject,  until  the  imagination 
is  taken  up  in  regular  order.    See  infra,  chap.  III.  see.  IV. 
3 


34  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

V.— LOVE,   SYMPATHY,  JEALOUSY,   ETC. 

If  we  may  judge  by  the  smiles  which  an  infant  bestows  upon  those 
who  have  charge  of  him,  affection  for  persons  arises  very  early.  These 
smiles  have  been  observed  before  the  end  of  the  second  month  (u),  and 
even  at  a  much  earlier  period.  The  earliest  smiles  are  probably  auto- 
matic, as  already  said,  but  by  the  end  of  the  fourth  month  there  is  no 
longer  any  doubt  that  persons  are  recognized.  A  little  boy  of  this  age 
was  observed  to  lift  up  both  arms  towards  his  parents,  "  with  an  inde- 
scribable expression  of  longing"  C38).  A  girl  of  the  same  age  used  to 
be  fond  of  lying  beside  her  sister,  their  faces  touching.  After  her  sister 
died  (she  was  then  five  months  old),  she  seemed  very  lonely,  and  when 
she  met  other  children  of  her  own  age,  she  would  greet  them  with 
smiles  and  kisses  (w).  In  another  case  visible  signs  of  affection  for 
persons  whom  he  knew, were  shown  by  a  boy  eight  months  old  (12),  and 
another  boy,  who,  when  nine  months  old,  used  to  return  his  father's 
caresses  by  a  charming  smile  and  gentle  stroking  of  his  father's  face, 
had  grown  very  affectionate  and  sympathetic  by  the  time  he  was  four- 
teen months  old,  and  bestowed  his  caresses  in  abundance,  not  only  on 
his  parents  and  friends,  but  on  the  cat  and  dog  also  (c).  Spontaneous 
expression  of  affection  is,  in  many  cases,  indeed,  first  shown  about  the 
beginning  of  the  second  year.  One  child  of  this  age  kissed  his  nurse 
repeatedly  on  her  return  from  a  short  absence  (u),  and  another  was  in 
the  habit  of  showing  his  affection  for  certain  persons  by  gently  laying 
his  hand  upon  their  faces  or  shoulders  (2=324).  Affection  for  animals, 
and  even  for  inanimate  objects,  is  also  very  strong  in  many  children  of 
this  age.  The  little  boy  R.  was  remarkably  attached  to  an  old  scarf  of 
soft  wool,  and  to  a  couple  of  rag  dolls.  He  would  not  go  to  sleep  with- 
out them,  but  would  lie  in  his  cradle  and  call  for  them  until  they  were 
brought,  when  he  would  hug  them  up  in  his  arms,  and  fall  asleep  chat- 
tering and  cooing  to  them  in  a  charming  manner.  When  he  got  into  any 
trouble,  especially  if  his  mother  punished  him,  he  would  run  and  bury 
his  face  in  the  old  scarf,  and  weep  out  his  childish  sorrows  iuto  its  sym- 
pathetic folds. 

The  memory  of  the  little  child  is  comparatively  weak,  and  his  experi- 
ence short;  and  hence,  though  capable  of  strong  affection,  that  affection 
does  not  persist  long  in  the  absence  of  its  object.  "  Out  of  sight,  out  of 
mind,"  is  true  in  the  case  of  the  child  during  his  first  }rear,  and  relatively 
true  to  a  much  later  period.  He  is  incapable  of  '"homesickness,"  with 
all  its  suffering,  simply  because  he  is  unable  as  vet  to  form  mental  pic- 
tures of  home  and  friends  who  are  absent.  He  lives  in  the  present 
rather  than  the  past,  in  the  realm  of  sense  rather  than  that  of  memory. 
For  the  same  reason,  his  love  for  persons  and  places  is  very  plastic,  and 
may  be  moulded  and  directed  into  almost  any  desired  channel  during 
these  early  months  and  years ;  hence  the  responsibility  resting  on  those 
who  are  entrusted  with  his  earliest  education  in  home  and  school. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  sympathy  as  a  characteristic  of  childhood 
should  be,  during  the  first  few  months,  so  weak  as  to  be  almost  entirely 
lacking.  The  first  is  that  the  child's  life  at  this  time  is  so  full  of  his 
own  personal  needs  that  he  can  pay  but  little  attention  to  those  of 
others ;  the  second,  that  he  is  as  yet  unable  to  comprehend  the  outward 
signs  of  feeling  in  others,  because  of  the  shortness  of  his  own  experi- 
ence (25:2iG).  n  seems  probable  that  some  of  the  earliest  manifestations 
of  apparently  sympathetic  feeling  may  be  merely  the  result  of  sensori- 
motor suggestion  (w).  Sigismund  noticed  the  ftrat  signs  of  sympathy 
at  the  end  of  the  first  three  mouths  (137),  but  Tledemanu  says  his  boy, 
when  only  two  months  old,  made  sympathetic  responses  when  consoled 
by  the  usual  vocal  expressions.  Mr.  Sully  has  observed  the  same  thing 
0s).    Another  boy,  at  six  months,  drew  a  melancholy  face,  with  mouth 


EMOTION.  35 

depressed,  when  his  nurse  pretended  to  cry  (u).  At  seven  months, 
another  child  manifested  decided  altruism,  and  seemed  desirous  of  shar- 
ing his  pleasures  —  with  the  exception  of  food  —  with  others  (6:30).  In 
another  case  a  child  of  eight  months  cried  when  some  one  pretended  to 
whip  his  nurse,  and  another  child  of  nearly  the  same  age  made  a  mourn- 
ful whining  noise,  accompanied  by  the  facial  expression  of  "  crying," 
on  hearing  another  child  cry,  and  also  when  a  minor  chord  was  struck 
on  the  piano  (B).  During  the  second  year,  sympathy  becomes  so 
strongly  established  that  its  outward  evidences  are  sometimes  seen, 
even  on  occasion  of  the  imaginary  sufferings  of  inanimate  objects,  and 
pictorial  representation  of  suffering  (B).  A  child  of  this  age  cried  when 
her  dolly  was  "hurt."  Sympathy  with  human  beings  is,  however, 
usually  much  stronger  than  animal  sympathy.  A  child  of  one  year,  who 
returned  home  after  a  short  absence,  took  no  notice  whatever  of  the  cat 
or  dog,  but  at  once  recognized  his  nurse  and  the  other  members  of  the 
family  with  pleasure  (2).  The  strength  of  human  sympathy,  and  the 
need  of  it  in  the  child,  is  seen  in  the  fact  that  when  he  is  hurt,  he  rarely 
cries,  unless  there  is  some  one  near  at  hand  to  hear  him. 

Jealousy.  Children  are  naturally  selfish  and  egoistic.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  "  meum  and  tuum  "  are  very  much  confused  in  the  young 
child's  mind.  Perhaps  it  may  be  better  said  that  his  idea  of  -'tuum" 
scarcely  exists, while  his  notion  of  "meum"  is  enormously  exaggerated. 
The  proprietary  instinct  is  very  strong  in  some  children,  and  this  enters 
largely  into  the  feeling  of  jealousy.  "The  need  of  play  engenders  the 
desire  of  possession  "  —  i.  e.,  of  the  playthings  —  and  this  in  turn  gives 
rise  to  the  instinct  of  property ;  hence  jealousy.  Tiedemann's  son  did  not 
want  his  sister  to  sit  in  his  chair  or  put  on  his  clothes,  but  he  would 
freely  take  hers.  "Jealousy  depends  in  general  on  temperament,  and  is 
often  the  index  of  a  very  keen  sensibility,  though  showing  itself  also  in 
children  of  a  calm  disposition.  It  is  easily  confounded  with  envy, 
desire,  wish  to  possess,  need  of  being  noticed,  etc.  It  opens  the  way  for 
hatred,  falsehood,  dissimulation ;  in  certain  feeble  natures  it  leads  to 
discouragement "  (25:i94) . 

"The  child  of  three  months  shows  by  various  signs  a  proprietary 
interest  in  the  breast ;  handles  it  as  his  own,  and  is  jealous  if  it  be  given 
to  another.  Later  he  demands  it  with  still  more  '  authority '"  (25:184). 
"At  three  and  a  half  months,  little  Mary  is  jealous  in  the  extreme,  and 
cries  if  her  sister  sits  upon  the  mother's  lap"  (6:29).  From  the  eighth- 
month  another  child  gave  every  evidence  of  jealousy  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances ;  grew  very  angry,  and  tried  to  drive  the  usurper  away  (12). 
A  little  girl  of  ten  months  would  cry  "  in  a  distressful  way,  not  express- 
ing anger,  but  disappointed  desire,  if  the  nurse  took  another  child  upon 
her  knee."  She  would  not  be  appeased  except  by  being  taken  up.  It 
would  not  do  to  take  heron  one  knee,  and  the  other  child  on  the  other  ; 
she  must  have  sole  possession  C40).  Little  R.  insists  on  being  a  sharer 
in  any  caresses  that  may  be  going  forward  between  his  parents.  Dar- 
win saw  plenty  of  evidence  of  jealousy  from  the  fifteenth  month,  and 
observes  that  it  would  probably  be  found  earlier.    So  also  Perez  (6:TO). 

The  jealousies  of  children  need  careful  treatment.  They  are  often 
augmented  and  rendered  morbid  by  injudicious  conduct,  and  thought- 
less words  of  praise  and  blame  on  the  part  of  grown-up  people.  Care- 
fully treated,  this  feeling  may  be  developed  into  self-respect  on  the  one 
hand,  and  a  proper  altruism,  or  "jealousy  for  others,"  on  the  other, 
and  thus  contribute  much  to  the  child's  moral  education1. 


i "  In  der  Kindheit  und  am  frohen  Morgren  d^s  Lebens  lebt  der  Mensch  eigentlich  nur 
aich  selbst;  da  bildet  sich  durch  '  Leben  fiir  sich,1  der  Korper  und  die  Seele  zum 
'  Leben  fiir  sich  und  fiir  andere  '  "  (41). 


4 


CHAPTER  III.— INTELLECT. 

Most  of  the  phenomena  described  in  the  preceding  pages  involve 
thought  in  a  greater  or  less  degree ;  yet  in  the  earliest  experiences,  mental 
activity  is  at  a  minimum  ;  the  affective  predominates  over  the  presenta- 
tive,  and  the  representative  occupies  but  a  very  small  place.  Yet  it 
seems  incorrect  to  say,  with  Nasse,  that  "  mind  comes  first  at  birth,  and 
the  first  breath  is  the  earliest  mark  of  intellect;"  or  with  Heyfelder, 
that  the  first  cry  is  the  sign  of  awakening  mind;  or  with  Karl  Vogt, 
that  the  newly- born  possesses  no  trace  of  intelligence  (5).  Kussmaul 
seems  nearer  the  truth  in  the  following:  "It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
man  comes  into  the  world  with  an  idea  —  a  dark  one  to  be  sure  —  of  an 
outer  something,  with  a  certain  idea  of  space,  with  the  possibility  of 
localizing  certain  touch  sensations,  and  with  a  certain  mastery  over  his 
movements.  How  can  it  otherwise  be  explained  that  the  hungry  child, 
before  it  is  suckled,  not  only  seeks  nourishment,  but  seeks  it  in  that 
region  where  its  sense  of  touch  during  the  search  is  actively  excited? 
These  astonishing  actions  can  only  be  comprehended  under  the  follow- 
ing suppositions  :  First,  that  the  child  has  already  gained  the  dim  idea 
of  an  outer  something  which  is  able  to  remove  the  unpleasant  sensation 
of  hunger  or  thirst,  and  which,  to  that  end,  must  come  through  the 
mouth ;  secondly,  that  he  is  able  to  decide  the  place  from  which  the 
sensation  of  stroking  came;  and  thirdly,  that  he  has  already  learned  to 
turn  the  head  voluntarily  to  the  one  side  or  to  the  other"  (6:29). 

It  is  not  possible,  within  the  present  limits,  either  to  give  a  detailed 
exposition  of  the  nature  of  the  thought  process,  or  to  trace  the  intellect- 
ual development  on  into  the  maturer  years.  For  these  the  reader  is 
referred  to  the  numerous  standard  works  on  psychology  in  general. 
Here  we  can  only  attempt  to  collate  facts  calculated  to  throw  light  on 
the  first  budding  of  the  intelligence,  and  to  trace  each  phenomenon 
only  to  that  stage  at  which  it  may  be  said  to  be  fairly  "  under  way." 
The  intimate  relation  between  thought  and  language  also  makes  it 
advisable  to  postpone  much  that  might  be  said  here,  until  we  come  to 
the  consideration  of  the  latter  topic1. 

Observation  of  intellectual  development  is  hampered  by  two  difficul- 
ties, which  render  great  caution  necessary.  In  the  first  place,  the  com- 
bined influence  of  heredity  and  environment  produces  such  wide 
individual  differences  among  children,  that  no  general  conclusions  can 
be  safely  expressed  until  a  very  large  number  of  cases  have  been 
observed.  (Certainly  nothing  exhaustive  or  final  can  be  said  at  the 
present  time.)  In  the  second  place,  even  the  most  careful  observer, 
watching  one  child,  is  apt  to  be  misled  by  certain  deceptive  appearances, 
and  to  give  the  child  credit  for  a  good  denl  that  he  does  not  really  know. 

They  do  clever  things,  and  say  brilliant  words,  by  imitation  and 


U  ' 


i  The  relation  of  thought  and  language  has  perhaps  never  been  more  aptly  expressed 
than  by  Sir  W.  Hamilton  in  the  following:  ''Language  is  to  the  mind  precisely  what 
the  arch  is  to  the  tunnel.  The  power  of  thinking  and  the  power  of  excavation  are  not 
dependent  on  the  word  in  the  one  case,  nor  on  the  mason  work  in  the  other;  but  without 
these  subsidiaries,  neither  process  could  be  carried  on  beyond  its  rudimentary  com- 
meacement."    Lectures,  Vol.  8,  p.  138. 


INTELLECT.  37 

accident,  not  knowing  the  meaning  of  them  »(*»),  In  this  way  many 
a  child,  supposed  to  be  a  prodigy,  does  not  at  all  excel  others,  except  in 
a  quickness  of  imitation.  When  you  want  him  to  "  show  off,"  he  fails 
you,  simply  because  the  words  do  not  mean  the  same  to  him  as  they  do 
to  you,  and  his  use  of  them  is  largely  mechanical1. 

The  child's  act  may  resemble  ours  outwardly,  but  the  sentiment 
underneath  the  act  may  be  very  different.  G.  S.  Hall  says :  "  Not 
only  are  children  prone  to  imitate  others  in  their  answers,  without  stop- 
ping to  think  and  give  an  independent  answer  of  their  own,  but  they 
often  love  to  seem  wise,  and,  to  make  themselves  interesting,  state  what 
seems  to  interest  us  without  reference  to  truth,  divining  the  lines  of  our 
interest  with  a  subtlety  we  do  not  suspect"  (42).  In  interpreting  the 
phenomena  here  recorded,  great  care  is  necessary  to  avoid  an  inaccurate 
estimate  of  their  intellectual  value. 

I. — PERCEPTION. 

In  the  process  of  perception — which  may  be  simply  denned  as  "  that 
act  of  the  mind  by  which  real  external  things  become  known  through 
the  senses"  (Y) — there  are  three  srages,  distinguisked  from  each  other 
qualitatively,  though  not  chronologically.  First,  the  simple  feelings  of 
the  senses  are  differentiated.  Changes,  quantitative  and  qualitative,  are 
felt  and  known.  The  child  recognizes  the  difference  between  a  sweet 
odor  and  a  bitter  one,  for  example.  He  could  not  describe  the  differ- 
ence even  if  he  could  speak,  but  is  simply  aware  of  it.  Secondly,  the 
sensations  are  localized.  A  definite  "  whereness  "  is  attributed  to  them. 
This  involves  the  recognition  of  space  properties  in  objects,  and  opens 
up  the  vexed  question  of  the  origin  of  the  idea  of  space,  into  which  we 
cannot  enter  here.  Thirdly,  the  manifold  of  sensation,  thus  differen- 
tiated and  localized,  is  unified  into  a  permanent  whole,  which  we  call 
the  object.  The  child  combines  the  scattered  sensations,  visual,  tactual, 
olfactory  and  sapid,  into  the  perceived  object,  food. 

Taste  Perceptions.  "The  first  centre  of  the  child's  psychic  life  is  the 
mouth"  (42).  Probably  the  first  action  is  sucking,  and  later  all  objects 
are  experimented  upon  by  means  of  the  lips  and  hands  together.  But 
even  in  the  third  month,  the  child  is  weak  in  power  of  comparison,  and 
will  suck  an  empty  bottle  as  readily  as  a  full  one,  until  he  finds  it  is 
empty  by  failure  to  extract  anything  from  it  (6!UB).  From  the  eighth 
day,  a  wry  face  was  made  at  the  sight  of  bitter  medicine,  and  by  the 
seventh  week  this  wry  face  was  accompanied  by  a  gesture  of  refusal 
(6:15).  At  one  month  and  five  days,  a  dose  of  medicine  was  taken  with 
visible  repugnance  (12).  The  experiments  of  Kussmaul,  already  referred 
to,  show  that  discrimination  between  tastes  takes  place  from  the  first. 
It  proceeds,  generally,  with  considerable  rapidity  from  the  third 
month  on,  and  by  the  tenth  month  various  articles  of  diet  are  clearly 
known  and  distinguished  from  one  another  (6:m).  Yet  the  child,  like 
the  adult,  though  in  a  greater  degree,  is  subject  to  illusions  of  taste, 
through  confusion  of  sapid  with  olfactory  sensations,  and  with  one 
another. 

Sight  Perceptions.  During  the  first  month,  the  child  gives  small 
evidence  that  he  has  any  ideas  of  distance,  or  of  his  own  body.  At  this 
age  he  will  strike  or  scratch  his  own  face.  A  girl  of  thirty  days 
"  seemed  for  an  instant  to  have  caught  the  reflected  image  of  herself," 
but  the  next  moment  she  became  lost  again  in  the  surrounding  objects 
of  the  nursery  (16).  A  boy,  during  hi-t  second  month,  gave  the 'first 
sign  of  distinguishing  external  objects  from  himself,  by  reaching  for- 
ward and  grasping  at  them.     About  the  same  time  he  began  apparently 

i  As  J.  J.  Rousseau  savs  in  Emile:  "  Un  instant  vous  diriez:  Cest  un  gfinie,  et  Tinatant 
d'apres:  Cest  uu  sot.    Vous  vous  t-omperiez  toujjurs:  Cest  un  enfant." 


38  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

to  pay  attention  to  the  looks  and  gestures  of  others,  and  at  six  months 
he  distinguished  persons,  without,  however,  having  any  clear  ideas 
about  them.  When  anything  presented  itself  to  him,  he  pointed  his 
finger  at  it,  to  direct  attention  to  it,  and  sometimes  said  ah  (12),  (c). 
From  the  beginning  of  his  second  year,  he  rapidly  advanced  in  power  of 
discrimination,  though  chiefly  among  objects  fitted  to  satisfy  his  needs. 
One  of  the  objects  earliest  to  be  recognized — if  not  the  very  earliest  —  is 
the  mother's  face  and  form.  Children  give  evidence  of  this  recognition 
in  the  second  or  third  month.  A  boy  of  seven  months  "surely  recog- 
nized three  persons," — his  parents  and  the  nurse  (1:5°).  Another,  at 
nine  weeks,  seemed  to  know  his  mother  (19).  No  objects,  not  even  the 
parents,  are  known  at  a  distance  C42).  In  the  course  of  the  first  half 
year,  much  improvement  takes  place  in  this  direction.  A  child  in  his 
fifth  month,  would  no  longer  grasp  at  objects  beyond  his  reach  (M). 
Smiling  at  the  image  in  the  mirror  has  been  noticed  as  early  as  the 
ninth  week. 

"From  the  sensations  of  hearing  and  smell,  there  can  be  formed  no 
representations  in  the  first  week"  (5:31).  Near  the  end  of  the  second 
month,  one  child  gave  evidence  that  he  distinguished  between  tones  of  ' 
voice  expressive  of  different  emotions  and  sentiments.  He  allowed  him- 
self to  be  pacified  by  gentle  tones  (12).  Another,  in  his  third  month, 
actively  sought  the  direction  of  sound  by  turning  his  head  (2:47). 

Owing  to  the  weakness  of  the  attention,  and  lack  of  experience,  the 
young  child  falls  into  many  illusions  of  sense-perception.  A  child  of 
four  months  believes  the  image  in  the  mirror  is  a  real  person,  as  is 
shown  by  his  surprised  look  when  he  hears  behind  him  the  voice  of  the 
individual  to  whom  the  reflection  belongs  (n).  A  boy  of  seven  months 
put  out  both  hands  to  pick  up  a  very  small  piece  of  paper  (6:S1).  At  six 
months  he  mistook  a  flat  dish  for  a  globe,  and  seemed  to  believe  all 
objects  had  bulk.  The  little  girl  F.  tried  one  day  to  "  pick  up  "  a  round 
picture,  which  was  made  to  represent  raised  work,  and  another  day  she 
tried  to  walk  on  the  water.  I  once  heard  a  little  girl  of  one  year  and  a 
half  call  the  moon  a  lamp,  showing  how  false  was  her  idea  of  its  real 
distance  and  magnitude. 

Children  are  said  to  be  peculiarly  subject  to  illusions  of  hearing, 
though  I  have  no  examples  to  give.  The  imperfection  of  their  judg- 
ments by  the  muscular  sense  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  child  of  three 
months  cannot  tell  a  full  bottle  from  an  empty  one,  by  the  weight 
alone  (6). 

II.— MEMORY. 

The  power  of  retaining  impressions,  and  recognizing  them  when  re- 
produced, haR  a  physiological  as  well  as  a  psychological  aspect;  the 
former  consisting  chiefly  in  the  susceptibility  of  organic  structures  to 
receive  impressions  which  are  capable  of  a  greater  or  less  degree  of 
permanency ;  the  latter  depending  principally  on  the  power  of  atten- 
tion. Where  the  attention  is  actively  directed  towards  the  present  sen- 
sation, that  sensation  is  more  easily  and  more  surely  reproduced  in 
memory. 

Little  children  have  but  small  power  of  attention  ;  from  the  psycho- 
logical side  therefore,  their  memories  are  weak.  Nearly  all  the  expe- 
riences of  the  first  two  years  of  life,  and  the  vast  majority  of  those  of 
the  next  four,  are  completely  forgotten  by  most  people.1  The  cerebral 
structures  in  children,  however,  are  very  impressible,  so  that,  from  the 
physiological  point  of  view,  the  memory  of  childhood  is  potentially,  at 
least,  very  strong.    This  probably  accounts    for  the   well-known  fact 

1  "A  writer  in  a  recent  London  iinu-a/iiif  deHares  thut  her  own  memory  betfau  at  six- 
teen months."'    M.  W.  Wright  in  Babyhood,  Feb.  1891. 


INTELLECT.  39 

that  those  experiences  of  childhood  that  are  remembered,  are  more 
firmly  fixed  and  persist  longer  than  those  of  early  manhood  or  middle 
age.  Let  the  attention  of  a  little  child — which,  be  it  observed,  is  weak 
in  both  directions,  being  as  hard  to  withdraw  from  a  present  sensation  as 
it  is  to  direct  towards  one — be  enchained  by  some  startling  or  fascinating 
experience,  and  an  impression  is  made  on  his  plastic  mind,  which  can 
never  be  effaced.1  Old  men  recall  the  events  of  fifty  years  ago  better 
than  those  of  last  year. 

The  little  child  is  capable  of  memories  long  before  he  has  learned  to 
speak.  A  little  boy,  six  months  old,  whose  hand  had  been  slightly 
burnt  by  a  hot  vase,  shrank  back  at  the  sight  of  this  article  a  few  days 
after  (86:M).  Certain  faces,  too,  are  recognized  by  children  of  this  age, 
showing  that  they  have  memory  images  of  them.  Strange  faces,  too, 
are  known  as  strange,  and  distinguished  from  familiar  ones ;  but  the  lat- 
ter are  not  yet  missed  when  absent  (3:4).  Sigismund  gives  an  interesting 
case  of  memory  in  a  boy  about  eight  months  old.  While  in  the  bath  he 
tried  repeatedly  to  raise  himself  up  by  the  edge  of  the  tub,  but  in  vain. 
Finally  he  succeeded  by  grasping  a  handle,  near  which  he  accidentally 
fell.  Next  time  he  was  put  into  the  bath,  he  reached  out  immediately 
for  the  aforesaid  handle,  and  raised  himself  up  in  triumph  (1:84).  Mem- 
ory of  persons  becomes  strong  by  the  end  of  the  first  year.  A  child  of 
this  age  recognized  her  nurse,  after  six  days'  absence,  "  with  sobs  of  joy." 
A  boy  somewhat  younger  knew  his  father  after  four  days'  absence, 
while  another,  seven  months  old,  did  not  recognize  his  nurse  after  four 
weeks'  absence,  but  when  nineteen  months  old  he  knew  his  father,  even 
at  a  distance,  after  two  weeks'  separation.  Another  child,  four  months 
old,  knew  his  nurse  after  four  weeks,  and  at  ten  months  he  missed  his 
parents,  and  was  troubled  by  their  absence.  A  boy  of  twenty-three 
months  manifested  keen  delight  on  again  seeing  his  playthings  after  an 
interval  of  eleven  weeks ;  and  when  a  year  and  a  half  old,  was  greatly 
disconcerted  one  day  when  sent  to  carry  one  towel  to  his  mother,  where 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  carrying  two  (  c).  Darwin's  boy,  at  a  little 
over  three  years  of  age,  instantly  recognized  a  portrait  of  his  grand- 
father, "  and  mentioned  a  whole  string  of  incidents  which  occurred  at 
their  last  meeting,  nearly  six  months  previous,"  the  matter  not  having 
been  mentioned  in  the  meantime.  The  little  boy,  E.,  recognized  a  young 
lady  who  lives  next  door,  after  a  few  weeks  of  absence.  He  also  knew 
me  after  nearly  three  weeks.  He  was  then  twenty-three  months  old. 
»W^  k°^  one  year  anc*  a  na^  °ld  heard  some  one  say  one  day  that  an- 
other boy  had  fallen  and  hurt  his  leg.  Some  days  after,  the  second  boy 
came  in,  whereupon  the  first  ran  up  to  him,  exclaiming,  "Fall,  hurt 
leg."  A  child  of  two  years,  whose  mother  had  made  him  a  toy  sled  out 
of  a  card,  on  receiving  a  postal  card  at  the  door  some  days  after,  ran 
with  it  to  his  mother,  crying,  "  Mama,  litten  "  (schlitten,  sled)  (3:1°). 

New  experiences  call  up  memories  of  old  experiences  by  association, 
and  in  this  way  events  that  occurred  prior  to  the  period  of  learning  to 
speak,  are  remembered  after  that  time.  A  little  boy  of  my  acquaintance 
related  the  following  tale,  the  events  of  which  took  place  before  he 
learned  to  speak  :"  Pussy  kime  on  table;  pull  Nonie  off  (£.  e.,  Nonie 
pulled  her  off) ;  pussy  katch  Nonie  face,  hands  too."  This  was  illus- 
trated by  gestures,  showing  the  process  of  scratching  (M).  Another 
boy,  three  years  old,  remembered  perfectly  well  and  would  imitate  his 
own  awkward  attempts  at  speaking  (3:9). 

A  very  interesting  question  in  this  connection  is  this  :  Which  of  the 
senses  furnish  the  most    vivid    and    lasting  memory-images?      The 

i  My  first  sight  of  a  locomotive  will  never,  I  believe,  be  effaced,  or  even  bedimmed,  in 
my  memory,  should  I  live  for  a  century.  To-day  I  can  call  it  up  with  remarkable  vivid- 
ness, and  with  all  its  attendant  circumstances,  clearly  and  definitely  portrayed. 


40  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

first  impulse  would  probably  be  to  attribute  the  pre-eminence  to  sight, 
but  in  so  doing, we  might  make  a  mistake.  It  is  probable,  as  M.  Queyrat 
seems  to  think,  that  the  muscular  sense  is  of  paramount  importance 
here  («).  Children  are  full  of  action,  and  their  psychic  life  is  bound  up 
with  movement.  If  they  are  to  develop,  they  must  do  something,  and 
they  remember  what  they  do,  a  thousand  times  better  than  what  i3  told 
or  shown  to  them.  This  is  also  true  in  adult  life.  Many  persons  study 
out  loud.  We  remember  what  we  xorite,  better  than  what  we  simply 
read.  Pedagogy  is  now  recognizing  this  as  a  great  principle  in  educa- 
tion, and  the  whole  kindergarten  system  is  based  upon  it. 

In  connection  with  hearing,  the  child  remembers  best,  some  connected 
story  which  is  helped  out  by  gestures  appealing  to  the  eye.  The  little 
boy  C,  at  twenty-five  months,  reproduced  after  his  own  fashion  the 
story  of  Little  Red  Riding  Hood  (having  heard  it  only  once,  and  that 
the  night  before)  with  abundant  gesture,  and  then  laughed  in  great 
glee. 

An  interesting  experiment  in  this  direction  is  reported  by  Baldwin  in 
Science  for  May  2nd,  1890.  The  child  was  six  and  a  half  months  old. 
Her  nurse  had  been  absent  three  weeks.  On  returning  she  first  appeared 
before  the  child  without  speaking,  then  she  spoke  without  appearing. 
In  neither  case  was  she  recognized.  But  when  she  appeared  agaiu.  and 
sang  a  familiar  nursery  rhyme,  the  child  recognized  her  with  demon- 
strations of  joy.  This  is  a  good  example  of  the  •'summation  of  stim- 
uli,"  or  the  co-operation  of  different  sensations,  reinforcing  each  other, 
to  produce  a  result  which  neither  could  accomplish  by  itself. 

III. — ASSOCIATION. 

Memory  and  imagination  proceed  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  as- 
sociation. The  chief  of  these  are  resemblance,  contiguity  and  contrast. 
The  general  principle  of  association  has  been  expressed  in  this  way  : 
"  When,  for  any  reason,  a  part  of  an  old  mental  movement  is  reinstated, 
there  is  a  tendency  for  the  whole  movement  to  reinstate  itself  "  (Y). 
The  physiological  under-structure  of  association  scarcely  exists  at  birth, 
but  gradually,  through  experience,  dynamic  pathways  in  the  cerebral 
substance  are  developed,  constituting  an  associative  network,  connect- 
ing the  various  centres  with  one  another.  On  the  mental  side  an  in- 
creasing readiness  to  note  resemblances,  differences,  etc.,  and  to  note 
them  where  they  are  less  obvious,  is  developed  in  the  course  of  exj 
rience. 

In  Mr.  Darwin's  opinion,  the  child  far  surpasses  the  lower  auii 
associative  power.     "The  facility  with  which  associated  ideas 
were  acquired,  seemed  to  me  by  far  the  most  strongly  marked   of  all 
the  distinctions  between  the  mind  of  an  infant,  and  that  of  the  cleverest 
full-grown  dog  I  ever  saw  "  (n). 

The  recorded  observations  on  this  point  show  great  individual  differ- 
ences. Champnevs  saw  signs  of  association  of  pleasurable  feelings  as 
early  as  the  eighth  week,  when  the  child  accompanied  a  smiling  expres- 
sion with  sucking  motions  of  the  lips.  Tiedemanu  thought  he  saw 
traces  of  asssociation  on  the  eighteenth  day,  when  the  child  ceased  cry- 
ing and  put  himself  into  the  attitude  for  taking  nourishment  when  a 
soft  hand  came  into  contact  with  his  face.  Sully  observed  a  similar 
thing  at  ten  weeks.  Darwin,  on  the  contrary,  did  not  notice  any  signs 
of  associations  firmly  fixed  before  the  fifth  month;  and  Taine 
puts  it  as  late  as  the  tenth  mouth;  while  Perez  believes  that 
homogeneous  sensations  are,  by  the  middle  of  the  first  month,  as- 
sociated to  such  a  point  that  they  are  recognized  when  reproduced;  and 
he  goes  on  to  say  that  "  there  is  not  one  of  the  combinations  of  associ- 
ations, which  have  been  studied  so  carefully  by  psychologists,  of  which 


to  note 

W 


INTELLECT.  41 

we  cannot  find  at  least  a  faint  foreshadowing  in  a  child  of  six  or  seven 
months"  (6:13«). 

The  following  are  examples  of  association  by  contiguity :  When  a  lit- 
tle child's  hat  and  cloak  are  put  on,  or  he  is  placed  in  his  carriage,  he 
becomes  restless,  and  even  angry,  if  not  immediately  taken  out.  This 
has  been  observed  in  children  less  than  half  a  year  old  (u),  and  in  others 
of  one  year  (12),C 6 ).  At  the  latter  age  the  association  is  much  stronger; 
he  cannot  even  see  a  hat,  cloak  or  umbrella  without  manifesting  the 
same  restlessness.  Probably  also,  as  Perez  thinks,  we  may  see  in  the 
child's  crying  for  food  on  the  return  of  daylight  the  germ  of  associa- 
tion by  succession,  out  of  which  is  constructed  the  idea  of  time.  A  rudi 
mentary  notion  of  cause  and  effect  may  also  be  seen  in  the  babe  of  half 
a  year  or  thereabouts,  who,  having  been  once  burnt  by  a  hot  object,  af- 
terwards draws  back  at  the  sight  of  it  (6) ;  and  in  the  child,  who,  find- 
ing a  peculiar  scratching  sound  to  follow  the  passage  of  his  finger  nail 
over  an  object,  repeats  the  process  again  and  again,  until  he  has  clearly 
established  the  relation  between  the  motion  and  the  sound  (16).  Con- 
tiguity in  the  form  of  co-existence  is  seen  in  the  following  :  At  seven 
months  the  person  of  the  nurse  was  associated  with  the  sound  of  her 
name ;  when  her  name  was  uttered,  the  child  would  turn  round  and  look 
for  her  (u).  The  same  thing  was  observed  in  another  child  five  months 
old(6).  Darwin's  boy,  at  nine  months,  associated  his  own  name  with 
his  image  in  the  mirror.  When  ten  months  old  he  learned  that  an  ob- 
ject which  caused  a  shadow  to  fall  on  the  wall  in  front  of  him,  was  to  be 
looked  for  behind.  When  less  than  a  year  old,  it  was  sufficient  to  repeat 
a  short  sentence  two  or  three  times  at  intervals,  to  fix  firmly  in  his 
mind  some  associated  idea. 

Resemblance,  if  not  the  earliest,  is  certainly  among  the  strongest  of 
the  child's  associations.  Darwin's  child,  in  the  second  half  of  his  first 
year,  would  shake  his  head  and  say  ah  to  the  coal-box,  to  water  spilt  on 
the  floor,  and  to  such  things  as  bore  a  resemblance  to  things  which  he 
had  been  taught  to  consider  dirty.  Another  boy,  nine  months  old,  on 
hearing  the  word  "  papa,"  would  hold  out  his  arms  to  another  gentle- 
man who  resembled  his  father  (sass) ;  and  a  little  girl  of  this  age  knew 
the  portrait  of  her  grandfather  as  it  hung  on  the  wall.  Sigismund 
says  :  "  I  showed  my  boy — not  yet  one  year  old — a  stuffed  woodcock, 
and  said  '  vogel.  '  He  immediately  turned  his  eyes  to  another  part 
of  the  room,  and  looked  at  a  stuffed  owl  which  stood  there "  (1:U1). 
Taine's  little  girl,  at  fifteen  months,  on  seeing  colored  pictures  of  birds, 
m(B|*iately  cried  out  koko.  which  was  her  name  for  chicken  (37).  The 
litfl  Wk,  C.,  on  seeing  the  infage  on  a  postal  card,  at  once  made  a  pe- 
cu^|  Mining  noise,  which  his  grandfather  was  in  the  habit  of  doing, 
showing  that  he  observed  a  resemblance  between  his  grandfather  and 
the  picture  on  the  card. 

For  resemblances  among  sounds,  children  in  general  have  the  keenest 
relish.  They  are  inveterate  punsters.  Rhymes  and  alliterations  are 
their  especial  delight.  They  will  catch  the  faintest  link  of  resemblance 
in  the  sound  of  words.  "  Harry  O'Neil  is  nicknamed  Harry  Oatmeal.  .  . 
October  suggests  knocked  over,  and  from  do,  re,  mi,  they  get  do,  re,  you  " 
(45).  Mere  jingles,  tiresome  to  the  grown-up  person,  will  amuse  them 
for  hours ;  such  as  "  Ene,  mene,  mine  mo,"  etc.,  or,  "  Dickory,  dickory, 
dock,"  etc. 

When  the  child  learns  to  speak,  the  power  of  association  by  resem- 
blances, in  his  mind,  is  exemplified  in  his  habit  of  enlarging  the  denota- 
tion of  words,  so  as  to  make  one  word  do  duty  for  several  objects  which 
resemble  each  other  in  certain  respects.  The  discussion  of  this  will  be 
resumed  later  (infra  Section  5  and  chap.  V.). 


42  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

IV.— IMAGINATION. 

There  are  two  species  of  imagination.  First,  the  passive,  in  which,, 
without  the  exercise  of  active  attention,  or  any  effort  of  will,  images 
pass  and  repass,  arranging  and  rearranging  themselves  in  the  phantasy. 
This  is  exemplified  in  dreams,  and  in  the  resuscitation  of  faded  memory 
images,  in  the  waking  moments  by  the  laws  of  association.  Secondly, 
the  active  or  constructive  imagination,  in  which,  by  ah  effort  of  atten- 
tion and  will,  old  images  are  worked  up  into  new  forms,  inanimate 
objects  have  life  and  personality  attributed  to  them,  and  curious  scenes 
and  combinations  are  produced  by  the  inventive  genius  of  the  person 
imagining. 

With  regard  to  the  first,  Perez  says :  "  The  child,  hardly  a  month  old, 
who  recognizes  his  mother's  breast  at  a  very  short  distance,  shows,  by 
the  strong  desire  he  has  to  get  to  it,  that  this  sight  has  made  an  impres- 
sion on  him,  and  that  this  image  must  be  deeply  engraven  on  his 
memory.  The  child  who,  at  the  age  of  three  mouths,  turns  sharply 
round  on  hearing  a  bird  sing,  or  on  hearing  the  name  "coco"  pro- 
nounced, and  looks  about  for  the  bird  cage,  has  formed  a  very  vivid  idea 
of  the  bird  and  the  cage.  When,  a  little  later,  on  seeing  his  nurse  take 
her  cloak,  or  his  mother  wave  her  umbrella,  he  shows  signs  of  joy,  and 
pictures  to  himself  a  walk  out  of  doors,  he  is  again  performing  a  feat  of 
imagination.  In  like  manner,  when,  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  months, 
having  been  deceived  by  receiving  a  piece  of  bread  instead  of  cake,  on 
finding  out  the  trick,  he  throws  the  bread  away  angrily,  we  feel  sure 
that  the  image  of  the  cake  must  be  very  clearly  imprinted  on  his  mind. 
Finally,  when  he  begins  to  babble  the  word  papa  at  the  sight  of  any 
man  whatever,  it  must  be  that  the  general  characteristics  which  make 
up  what  he  calls  papa  are  well  fixed  in  his  imagination  (6:14T).  When 
they  are  left  alone,  children  who  have  acquired  the  word  "mamma," 
will  repeat  this  name  over  and  over  again,  proving  the  presence  of  the 
mother's  image  in  the  imagination  (6:H8). 

One  of  the  most  significant  forms  of  the  passive  imagination  in  child- 
hood is  the  dream.  It  is  verjT  difficult  to  ascertain  when  the  child  first 
begins  to  dream,  and  this  for  several  reasons.  The  child  who  can  talk, 
will  "tell  his  dreams,"  in  imitation  of  grown-up  people,  no  dream  hav- 
ing taken  place.  In  the  case  of  the  child  who  cannot  talk,  we  have  very 
little  reliable  information  to  go  upon.  But  there  seems  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  dreams  may  take  place  just  as  soon  as  the  child's  waking 
experiences  have  furnished  him  with  clear  and  definite  sensations. 

As  for  the  constructive  imagination,  our  space  will  not  admit  the 
hosts  of  examples  that  might  be  given  of  the  wonderful  fertility  of 
children's  minds  in  this  respect.  Their  little  wooden  toys  become  trans- 
formed into  real  soldiers,  fighting  real  battles,  mighty  locomotives 
drawing  long  trains  of  heavily-laden  cars,  or  great  steamships  sailing 
over  unfathomable  oceans.  "  Given  a  few  broken  pieces  of  glass,  a 
flower,  a  fruit,  a  colored  string,  a  doll,  and  out  of  them  the  baby 
imagination  constructs  an  immeasurable  happiness"  C**)1.  Indeed 
it  would  seem,  as  Jastrow  says,  that  the  function  of  toys  is  to 
serve  as  "  lay  figures,  on  which  the  child's  imagination  can  weave  and 
drape  its  fancies"  (34).  In  order  to  serve  this  purpose,  the  toy  does  not 
need  to  be  a  work  of  art.  "  We  don't  like  buyed  dolls,"  says  little 
Budge,  in  Helen's  Babies,  and  in  so  saying,  he  seems  to  voice  the 
opinions  of  the  majority  of  children.  A  wax  doll  is  a  nice  thing  to  have, 


i«W>e  "The  Story  of  a  Sand  Pile, "' by   O.  S.  Hall,  in  Scrib'itr's  Mayaziae  for  June 
1688. 


INTELLECT.  43 

and  look  at  occasionally,  but  for  real,  "  sure  enough,"  every-day  play, 
give  us  the  old  rag  doll'1 . 

Children  in  their  plays  imagine  themselves  other  than  they  are.  They 
transform  themselves  into  kings  and  queens,  professors  and  preachers, 
fathers  and  mothers  and  grandparents,  and  fulfill  all  the  functions  of 
neighbors  and  citizens  with  the  greatest  solemnity  and  dignity.  They 
surround  themselves  with  imaginary  personages,  and  carry  on  imaginary 
conversations2. 

I  shall  close  this  section  with  a  quotation.  W.  W.  Newell,  in  "  Games 
and  Songs  of  American  Children,"  says  :  u  Observe  a  little  girl  who  has 
attended  her  mother  for  an  airing  in  some  city  park.  The  older  person, 
quietly  seated  beside  the  footpath,  is  half  absorbed  in  reverie ;  takes  little 
notice  of  passers-by,  or  of  neighboring  sights  or  sounds,  further  than 
to  cast  an  occasional  glance,  which  may  inform  her  of  the  child's 
security.  The  other,  left  to  her  own  devices,  wanders  contented  within 
the  limited  scope,  incessantly  prattling  to  herself ;  now  climbing  an 
adjoining  rock,  now  flitting  like  a  bird  from  one  side  of  the  pathway  to 
the  other.  Listen  to  her  monologue,  flowing  as  incessantly  and  musi- 
cally as  the  bubblipg  of  a  spring ;  if  you  can  catch  enough  to  follow  her 
thought,  you  will  find  a  perpetual  romance  unfolding  itself  in  her  mind. 
Imaginary  persons  accompany  her  footsteps ;  the  properties  of  a  child- 
ish theatre  exist  in  her  fancy ;  she  sustains  a  conversation  in  three  or 
four  characters.  The  roughness  of  the  ground,  the  hasty  passage  of  a 
squirrel,  the  chirping  of  a  sparrow,  are  occasions  sufficient  to  suggest 
an  exchange  of  impressions  between  the  unreal  figures  with  which  her 
world  is  peopled.  If  she  ascends,  not  without  a  stumble,  the  artificial 
rockwork,  it  is  with  the  expressed  solicitude  of  a  mother  who  guides  an 
infant  by  the  edge  of  a  precipice ;  if  she  raises  her  glance  to  the  waving 
green  overhead,  it  is  with  the  cry  of  pleasure  exchanged  by  playmates 
who  trip  from  home  on  a  sunshiny  day.  The  older  person  is  confined 
within  the  barriers  of  memory  and  experience,  the  younger  breathes 
the  free  air  of  creative  fancy." 

V. — THE  DISCURSIVE  PROCESSES. 

Conception,  judgment  and  reasoning,  the  three  processes  of  discursive 
thought,  are  treated  together,  because  it  is  impossible  to  make  qualita- 
tive distinctions  among  them.  They  differ  only  in  degree,  not  in  kind. 
In  every  concept,  there  is  involved  a  rudimentary  judgment,  and  the 
syllogism  consists  simply  in  the  apperceptive  synthesis  of  judgments, 
whose  constituent  elements  are  concepts.  The  three  are  then  at  bottom 
only  different  stages  in  the  one  process,  by  which  knowledge  of  the 
abstract  is  elaborated.  Examples  given,  therefore,  to  illustrate  the  one, 
contain  elements  almost  equally  illustrative  of  the  others. 

Conception.  The  child's  earliest  experience,  being  predominantly 
physiological,  is  also  predominantly  individual  and  concrete.  He  lives 
in  the  particular.  It  is  a  momentous  juncture  in  his  life  when  he  first 
steps  out  beyond  individual  things,  to  abstract  their  common  qualities, 
and  of  these  to  form  notions.  It  is  only  then  that  he  begins  to  think,  in 
the  strict  sense  of  the  word ;  and  it  is  this  thinking  in  abstractions  and 
generals,  which,  in  Locke's  opinion,  differentiates  the  human  mind 
essentially  from  lower  animal  intelligence3. 

i  The  same  thing  holds  with  regard  to  pictures.  I  have  seen  a  copy  of  a  German  pic- 
ture-book for  children,  which  is  almost  completely  lacking  in  artistic  excellence,  but 
which  has  gone  through  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  editions.  A  movement  is  now 
on  foot  in  Russia  to  prohibit  the  importation  of  the  finely  finished  and  elegant  French 
toys,  on  the  ground  that  they  leave  no  room  for  the  exercise  of  the  child's  imagination. 

2"  One  of  the  greatest  pleasures  of  childhood  is  found  in  the  mysteries  which  it  hides 
from  the  scepticism  of  the  elders,  and  works  up  into  small  mythologies  of  its  own.1' 
Holmes,  "  The  Poet  at  the  Breakfa  t  Table." 

3"  Human  Understanding,"  Book  II.  chap.  2. 


44  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

Taine  believes  that  the  general  notion  makes  its  appearance  only  with 
the  acquisition  of  language  (37),  (29:408),  Preyer,  on  the  other  hand, 
maintains  that  "even  before  the  first  attempts  at  speaking,  a  generaliz- 
ing and,  therefore,  concept-forming  combination  of  memory-images 
regularly  take  place"  (S:11).  ''That  the  ability  to  abstract  may  show 
itself,  though  imperfectly,  even  in  the  first  year,  is,  according  to  my 
observations,  certain.  infants  are  struck  by  a  quality  of  an 
object  —  e.  g.,  the  white  appearance  of  milk.  The  'abstracting,' 
then,  consists  in  the  isolating  of  this  quality  from  innumerable 
other  sight-impressions,    and  the  blending    of    the    impressions    into 

a  concept.    The  naming  of  this,  which  begins  months   later 

is  an  outward  sign  of  this  abstraction,  which  did  not  at  all  lead 
to  the  formation  of  the  concept,  but  followed  it "  (3:18).  He  also  quotes 
from  Oehlwein  to  show  that  deaf-mute  children,  in  the  first  year  of  life, 
form  concepts,  aud  logically  combine  them  with  one  another ;  and  he 
concludes  that  thinking  is  not  bound  up  with  verbal  language,  though 
it  no  doubt  demands  a  certain  degree  of  cerebral  development.  Even 
orangs  and  chimpanzees  reason  without  language,  but  their  concepts 
are  neither  so  abstract,  so  clear  nor  so  numerous  as  those  of  the  child 
even  before  he  learns  to  speak,  while  after  that  time  the  gulf  between 
them  widens  infinitely  (3:21). 

Perez  agrees  with  the  above  view,  and  quotes  from  Houzeau  to  show 
that  dogs,  bees,  and  other  dumb  creatures  have  concepts,  and  carry  on 
reasoning  processes.  As  to  the  child,  he  gives  several  examples  on  this 
point.  A  boy  of  eight  months,  who  used  to  amuse  himself  by  stuffing 
things  into  a  tin  box,  afterwards  examined  every  new  toy  to  find  an 
opening.  Another  child  of  the  same  age  used  to  make  a  peculiar  sound 
when  he  desired  solid  food,  different  from  that  by  which  he  expressed  his 
desire  of  the  breast.  Another,  at  nine  months,  gave  unmistakable 
evidence  that  he  possessed  the  concept  "animal"  (6:197). 

According  to  Romanes,  there  is  a  class  of  ideas  standing  between  the 
percept  and  the  concept,  less  abstract  than  the  latter,  but  more  general 
than  the  former,  to  which  he  gives  the  name  recept.  They  are  complex 
ideas  arising  out  of  a  repetition  of  more  or  less  similar  percepts.  E.  g., 
when  a  parrot,  who  has  learned  to  call  out  boio-xooio  when  the  house  dog 
enters  the  room,  also  calls  out  this  word  on  seeing  other  dogs  of  various 
sizes,  colors  and  forms,  he  possesses  an  idea  which  constitutes  an 
advance  on  the  percept,  but  cannot,  strictly  speaking,  be  called  a  con- 
cept. Every  child  passes  through  a  receptual  stage,  which  does  not 
require  language,  whereas  the  concept,  properly  so-called,  or  the  active 
synthesis  of  qualities  into  a  class,  is  not,  in  his  opinion,  attained  until 
the  child  can  speak  (ssisgji. 

Taking  the  ordinary  meaning  of  the  word  concept,  which  includes 
what  Ilomanes  expresses  by  recept,  it  seems  established  that  the  forma- 
tion of  the  concept  is  prior  to,  aud  in  large  measure  independent  of,  lan- 
guage; but  it  seems  equally  clear  that  abstraction  and  generalization  do 
not  attain  to  any  great  degree  of  complexity  without  the  aid  of  speech, 
as  the  observation  of  the  cleverest  deaf-mutes  clearly  shows.  Even 
after  speech  begius,  the  discursive  processes  develop  but  slowly.  Iu 
one  case,  a  child  of  seventeen  mouths  had  not  yet  differentiated  his  col- 
lective concept  "  taste-smell  "  (as  united  in  one  object)  into  the  concepts 
"taste"  and  "  smell "  (8:14) ;  though  another  child,  at  seven  months, 
seemed  to  have  ideas  of  kind  (8:81).  A  boy  of  three  years  did  not  know 
the  meaning  of  "  size"  or  "goodness,"  though  long  before  this  he  per- 
fectly understood  the  expression:  "Baby  is  a  good  boy."  Children 
have  very  little  idea  of  number  iu  the  first  two  years.     A  child  of  two 

•See  also  a  «eries  of  aitiriKS  in  Public  School  Journal  tor  November  and   December, 

1891,  ami  January  utnl  February,  1S92,  entitled,  "  How  do  Concepts  arise  from 
Percepts/ " 


INTELLECT.  45 

and  a  half  years  confounded  "  naughty  "  with  "  ugly."  In  short,  we 
find  at  this  period  only  the  lowest  degree  of  abstraction  (6:178"). 

The  child's  first  generalizations  are  very  inaccurate.  Even  when  he 
begins  to  talk  and  to  use  general  names,  he  does  not  use  them  in  the 
same  sense  as  the  adult.  His  generalizations  are  apt  to  be  too  wide. 
"Logic  in  the  child  naturally  operates  with  much  more  extensive  and 
less  intensive  notions  than  in  adults.  Hence  he  is  very  liable  to  illusion, 
not  through  stupidity,  but  simply  through  ignorance,  arising  out  of 
lack  of  experience."'  After  having  held  out  grass  to  a  sheep,  he  also 
offers  some  to  the  bird?  (3:17),  and  in  this  he  is  acting  with  perfect  con- 
sistency, within  the  range  of  his  knowledge.  He  extends  the  term 
papa  to  other  men.  the  word  atta  or  peudu  (perdu)  to  all  sorts  of  dis- 
appearances (3),  (6)  ;he  makes  the  word  quack-quack  apply  not  only  to 
a  duck,  but  to  the  water  on  which  the  duck  swims,  then  to  all  birds  and 
insects,  then  to  all  fluids,  and  finally  to  all  coins,  because  he  had  seen 
the  picture  of  an  eagle  on  a  French  sou  (33:288).  jje  includes  an  eye- 
glass in  the  concept  bon  dieu  (blessed  medal),  and  the  steamboat,  coffee- 
pot, and  all  hissing,  noisy  objects,  in  the  class  fafer  (chemin  de  fer, 
locomotive).  A  little  girl  of  eighteen  months  had  been  amused  by  her 
mother  hiding  in  play,  and  saying  coucou.  She  had  also  been  warned  to 
keep  out  of  the  hot  sun,  by  the  words  ca  brule.  One  day,  on  seeing  the 
sun  disappear  behind  a  hill,  she  put  these  two  ideas  together  and 
exclaimed  a  bide  coucou  (29).  Another  child  of  the  same  age  applied 
the  name  no-no  to  all  eye-glasses,  because  she  had  been  forbidden  to 
snatch  off  her  nurses' glasses  by  the  words  no-no  (B).  Taine  believes 
the  characteristic  mark,  distinguishing  the  child  from  the  lower  auimal, 
is  this  very  capacity  of  detecting  resemblances  amid  differences,  which 
leads  him  to  extend,  to  such  a  surprising  degree,  the  denotation  of  the 
term.  Not  only  does  he  apply  the  word  bow-wow  to  the  terriers,  mas- 
tiffs and  ^Newfoundlands  which  he  meets  in  the  street,  but  "a  little 
later  he  does  what  an  animal  never  does,  he  says  bow-wow  to  a  paste- 
board dog  that  barks  when  squeezed,  then  to  a  pasteboard  dog  which 
does  not  bark,  but  runs  on  wheels,  then  to  the  bronze  dogs  which  orna- 
ment the  drawing  room,  then  to  his  little  cousin,  who  runs  about  the 
room  on  all  fours,  then,  at  last,  to  a  picture  representing  a  dog  (29). 

Children's  notions  of  things  are  chiefly  connected  with  their  uses  or 
actions.  M.  Binet  gives  a  large  number  of  interesting  definitions  of 
things  given  by  children,  from  which  I  select  the  following:  uUn 
couteau,  c'est  pour  couper  la  viande."  "Un  cheval,  c'est  pour  trainer 
une  voiture,  avec  un  monsieur  dedans."  "Une  lampe,  c'est  pour 
allumer,  pour  qu'on  voie  clair  dans  la  chambre."  "Un  crayon,  c'est 
pour  ecrire."  "  Un  chapeau,  c'est  pour  mettre  sur  la  t§te."  (Note  the 
frequency  of  the  "pour.") 

Judgment  is  involved,  in  a  rudimentary  form,  in  conception,  and  even 
in  perception,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  examples.  When  a 
child  at  two  months  recognizes  his  parents  (u) ;  at  three  and  a  half 
months  turns  round  to  the  cage  on  hearing  the  word  coco  (")  ;  "  comes 
to  meet"  the  spoon  with  his  mouth  when  being  fed(1:85);  at  seven 
months  turns  his  head  around  to  the  left  when  an  object  is  carried  so 
far  behind  him  that  he  can  no  longer  see  it  by  turning  to  the  right  (te) ; 
at  eight  months  recognizes  a  pictorial  representation  (38:188) ;  and  cries 
for  Gourlay  water,  which  is  white  and  opaque,  though  not  for  ordinary 
water ;  in  the  tenth  month  gives  evidence  of  the  knowledge  that  bodies 
have  weight  (2:5°) ;  and  shows  by  unmistakable  signs  that  he  misses  his 
absent  parents,  and  even  knows  when  a  single  nine-pin  is  removed  from 
his  set, — we  cannot  doubt  that  he  is  performing  an  act  of  judgment. 
These  primitive  judgments  are  mostly  concrete  and  particular,  abstract 
and  general  judgments  being  a  later  attainment.  Children  of  eighteen 
months  will  recognize  the  pictures  of  all  the  more  familiar  animals,  and 


46  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

respond  with  the  appropriate  sounds,  bow-wow,  moo,  etc.  The  spoken 
judgment  arises  when  an  object  arouses  an  idea  in  the  child's  mind,  to 
which  idea  he  attaches  a  name,  recognizing  it  as  connected  with  the 
object.  The  first  spoken  judgment  does  not  then  require  two  words,  as 
Taine  seems  to  think  (29:432),  but  usually  consists  of  one  word,  which 
does  duty  for  a  whole  sentence1. 
—  Seasoning.  When  the  little  boy,  R.,  was  four  months  old,  he  was 
playing  one  day  on  the  floor  surrounded  by  his  toys.  One  toy  rolled  away 
beyond  his  reach.  He  seized  a  cloches-pin  and  used  that  as  a  "  rake  " 
with  which  to  draw  the  toy  within  reach  of  his  hand.  Mr.  Darwin  laid 
his  finger  on  the  palm  of  a  child  fixs.months  old.  The  child  closed  his 
fingers  around  it,  and  carried  it  to  his  mouth.  When  he  found  that  he 
was  hindered  from  sucking  it,  by  his  own  fingers  getting  in  the  way,  he 
loosened  his  grasp  and  took  a  new  hold  farther  down,  then  vigorously 
sucked  the  finger.  When  Preyer's  boy,  at  six  months,  "  after  consider- 
able experience  in  nursing,  discovered  that  the  flow  of  milk  was  less 
abundant,  he  used  to  place  his  hand  hard  upon  the  breast,  as  if  he 
wanted  to  force  out  the  milk  by  pressure"  (3:12).  Another  child,  at 
seven  months,  cried  for  a  share  of  the  food  his  nurse  was  eating  (6:211). 
A  boy  of  eight  mouths  took  a  watch,  which  was  offered  him,  and  after 
biting  on  it  with  evident  satisfaction,  tried  to  break  a  piece  off,  as  he 
would  from  a  cracker.  At  thirteen  months,  a  child  who  noticed  the  resem- 
blance between  two  men,  inferred  certain  acts  on  the  part  of  one  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  the  other  (19). 

The  boy,  C,  when  fourteen  months  old,  was  one  day  feeding  the  dog 
with  crackers,  when  the  supply  ran  out.  He  immediately  "  crept  to  the 
sideboard,  opened  the  left-hand  door,  pulled  himself  up  by  the  shelf, 
and  helped  himself  out  of  the  box  in  which  they  were  kept."  He  had 
seen  crackers  taken  from  this  box  before,  but  had  never  done  it  himself. 
He  was  observed  to  feel  his  own  ears,  and  then  his  mother's,  one  day 
when  looking  at  pictures  of  rabbits.  One  day,  when  eighteen  months 
old,  he  came  in  from  playing  on  the  lawn,  quite  hot  and  somewhat  dirty. 
He  at  once  ran  to  his  mother,  holding  up  his  dirty  dress  with  a  gesture 
of  disgust ;  then  ran  to  the  drawer  where  his  clean  clothes  were  kept, 
and  tugged  at  it  with  all  his  might.  Another  boy  of  the  same  age,  both 
of  whose  hands  were  filled  with  toys,  wishing  to  grasp  still  another, 
quickly  put  one  of  them  between  his  knees  (48).  A  little  girl  of  this 
age  used  to  feign  sleep  until  the  nurse  left  the  room,  when  she  would 
immediately  resume  her  interrupted  romps  (B).  Tiedemann's  boy,  at 
two  years  of  age,  used  to  employ  cunning  to  accomplish  his  purposes. 
The  little  girl,  F.,  at  a  year  and  a  half,  furnished  a  good  example  of 
reasoning  by  analogy.  She  had  been  shown  the  pictures  in  a  book  with 
red  binding.  She  afterwards  went  to  the  bookcase  and  took  down  two 
other  books  having  red  binding,  and  looked  through  them,  evidently 
expecting  to  find  pictures  in  them  also.  One  day  when  I  rose  to  take 
my  leave,  she  patted  vigorously  on  the  cushion  of  a  chair,  and  then 
pulled  at  my  coat  to  induce  me  to  prolong  my  stay. 

From  about  the  end  of  the  second  year,  the  reasoning  power  in  most 
children  makes  such  rapid  progress  that  it  is  impossible  to  set  down  all 
the  examples  that  are  to  hand.  I  content  myself  with  one  more.  A  boy 
of  two  years  was  quite  familiar  with  the  articles  of  his  food  by  name, 
and  when  the  word  milk  was  spoken  in  his  hearing,  he  clamored  for  a 
share  of  that  article.  His  mother  hit  upon  the  device  of  spelling  the 
word,  when  it  was  undesirable  that  his  attention  should  be  called  to  it. 
Before  long,  however,  he  learned  to  know  the  word,  even  when  spelled, 
and  one  day,  when  his  mother  asked  for  the  m-i-l-k,  he  at  once  cried 
out,  mickey. 

i Preyer's  boy,  at  twenty-three  mouths,  uttered  his  first  spoken  judgment,  viz.: 
"Heiss"  (="  This  food  is  too  hot.") 


INTELLECT.  47    Ltt 


VI.— THE   IDEA  OF   SELF. 

The  phenomena  which  accompany  and  indicate  the  gradual  emergence 
into  clear  consciousness,  of  what  Taine  calls  the  "  unextended  centre," 
the  "mathematical  point,"  by  relation  to  which  all  the  "  other  "  is  de- 
fined, and  which  each  of  us  calls  "IV  or  "me,"— the  external  evidences 
that  the  child  is  slowly  but  surely  becoming  "  aware  of  himself  as  a 
permanent  being,  distinct  from  the  objects  he  knows,  the  feelings  he 
experiences,  and  the  ends  he  chooses  "  (Y), — may  be  conveniently  clas- 
sified under  four  heads : 

(I).  The  child's  treatment  of  his  own  body.  In  the  first  weeks  he  will 
strike  or  scratch  his  own  face  (12).  One  boy  bit  his  own  finger  until  he 
cried  with  the  pain,  even  in  the  early  part  of  the  second  year.  In  the 
ninth  month  the  feet  are  still  eagerly  felt  of,  and  the  toes  carried  to  the 
mouth,  the  same  as  foreign  substances.  This  experimentation  with  his 
own  limbs  goes  on  all  through  the  second,  and  in  some  cases  well  on  into 
the  third  year.  "  In  the  first  year  the  child's  organism  is  not  known  as 
part  of  himself"  C38).  A  boy  of  nineteen  months,  when  asked  to  "give 
the  foot,"  seized  it  with  both  hands,  and  tried  to  hand  it  over  (3:189).  A 
little  girl,  a  little  over  two  years  old.  used  to  enlarge  on  a  familiar  ditty 
in  the  following  fashion :  "  One  for  papa,  one  for  mamma,  one  for  toses 
(one  for  toes)  "  (B).  Sigismund  believes  that  the  child  learns  a  good 
deal  about  his  own  limbs  (and  so  takes  the  first  step  toward  a  knowledge 
of  self)  through  bringing  his  hand  to  his  mouth,  to  ease  the  pain  of  the 
growing  teeth.  The  feeling  is  different  when  he  chews  his  own  finger 
and  that  of  his  nurse.  A  child  of  four  or  five  months  studies  his  own 
fingers  attentively.  When  one  hand  accidently  grasps  the  other,  he  looks 
attentively  at  both.  Lying  on  his  back,  he  gazes  at  his  legs  stretched 
up  in  the  air. 

Closely  connected  with  this  is  the  child's  evident  delight  in  his  own 
activity  and  ability  to  do  things.  JVundt  believes  the  muscular  sense 
plays  a  predominant  role  in  the  genesis  of  self-consciousness,  and  there 
is  little  doubt  that  the  acquisition  of  the  power  of  walking  contributes 
very  largely  to  the  growth  of  the  self -idea  (41:16).  The  feeling  of  power 
is  engendered  by  the  discovery  that  he  can  cause  changes  in  objects. 
"An  extremely  significant  day  in  the  life  of  the  infant  is  the  oue  In 
which  he  first  experiences  the  connection  of  a  movement  executed  by 
'himself  with  a  sense-impression  following  upon  it"  (3:192).  Preyer's 
boy,  in  the  fifth  month,  discovered  that  by  tearing  paper  he  could 'pro- 
duce sound  sensations ;  also  by  shaking  a  bunch  of  keys,  opening  and 
closing  a  box  (thirteenth  month),  turning  the  leaves  of  a  book,  etc.,  and 
these  occupations  were  accordingly  carried  on  with  a  perseverance 
astonishing  to  an  adult.  He  experienced  a  genuine  pleasure  in  finding 
himself  a  cause~ 

(II).  The  child's  behavior  towards  his  image  in  the  mirror.  Dar- 
win's child  failed  to  interpret  his  reflection  when  five  months  old,  but 
two  months  later  he  had  accomplished  it,  and  at  nine  months  had 
learned  to  associate  his  name  with  the  image.  Another  child  at  eight 
months  used  to  look  at  his  reflection  with  wonder  (expressed  by  wide 
open  eyes  and  immobility).  "On  being  shown  a  hand  glass,  he  regards 
his  image  with  interest,  smiles  and  tries  to  catch  it.  He  puts  his  hand  on 
the  glass,  and  tries  to  take  hold  of  the  image's  hand.  Then  he  turns  the 
glass  over,  and  looks  up  in  wonder  at  the  result  "  (19).  A  similar  per- 
formance was  gone  through  by  a  boy  of  ten  months ;  and,  six  months 
later,  he  was  found  one  day  standing  before  the  glass,  pulling  his  hair, 
examining  his  eyes  and  ears,  and  sticking  out  his  tongue  (c).  Preyer's 
boy  did  not  notice  himself  in  the  glass  when  three  months  old.  Three 
weeks  later  he  looked  at  it,  but  with  indifference.  Two  weeks  later 
still,  he  regarded  it  with  attention,  and  laughed  at  the  sight  of  it.  Near 
the  end  of  the  sixth  mouth,  he  stretched  out  his  hand  towards  it.    In 


48  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

his  ninth  month  he  grasped  at  it,  and  seemed  surprised  when  his  hand 
came  against  the  smooth  surface.  At  fourteen  months  he  passed  his 
hand  behind  the  glass,  as  if  searching  for  something.  He  afterwards 
behaved  in  the  same  manner  toward  a  photograph.  In  the  sixteenth 
month  he  made  grimaces  before  the  glass,  laughing  as  he  did  so.  Two 
weeks  later  he  looked  at  himself  often  in  the  glass,  with  pleasure  and 
evident  vanity.  At  twenty  months  he  connected  his  own  name  with 
the  image,  and  when  asked,  a  Where  is  Axel?"  would  point  to  the 
reflection  (8:197).  Another  child  knew  her  image  in  the  glass  at  twelve 
months,  would  point  to  it  and  say  Tatie  (Katie).  A  little  boy  of  fifteen 
months  calls  his  image  Titta,  by  which  he  means  child  or  doll. 

(III).  In  the  third  place,  we  have  those  actions  which  show  the 
beginnings  of  the  feeling  of  property,  such  as  pride  in  personal  appear- 
ance, and  in  adornment,  jealousy  over  toys,  and  other  things  which  the 
child  considers  his  rights.  A  number  of  examples  have  already  been 
given  in  connection  with  the  emotion  of  jealousy  (Cbap.ii.5).  As  regards 
personal  adornment,  there  are  very  great  differences  among  children, 
some  taking  great  delight  in  it,  while  others  seem  to  care  but  little 
about  it  (47).  A  little  girl  whom  I  have  observed  since  her  first  year 
seems  very  fond  of  it,  and  will  spend  hours  in  adorning  herself  with 
veils  and  feathers  and  bracelets,  making  believe  she  is  some  fine  lady. 
Whenever  her  best  clothes  are  put  on,  or  a  new  hat,  she  is  very  proud 
and  walks  very  straight  and  dignified  indeed. 

(IV).  Lastly,  we  notice  the  child's  use  of  the  pronoun  "I"  (Je,Ich,Ego). 
It  is  interesting  to  remember  that,  according  to  the  opinion  of  some 
philologists  (MaxMliller,  for  example),  this  word  was,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  development  of  language,  a  demonstrative,  meaning  "  this  one," 
and  was  probably  accompanied  by  a  gesture,  and  perhaps,  further  back 
still,  the  gesture  supplied  the  place  of  the  word.  Man  spoke  of  himself 
in  the  third  person  before  he  learned  to  use  the  first  person.  Just  so 
with  the  child.  He  first  calls  himself  by  his  proper  name,  or  he  uses  the 
word  baby,  and  the  intelligent  use  of  the  first  persoual  pronoun  comes 
late — most  observers  put  it  as  late  as  the  third  year.  I  have  never  heard  a 
child  less  than  two  years  old  call  himself  "  I "  or  "  me."  The  chief  diffi- 
culty in  the  way  of  his  doing  so,  is  that  he  never  hears  the  word  applied 
to  him  by  others.  This  is  why  he  makes  such  errors  as  "Take  me  up 
on  my  (meaning  your)  lap." 

The  "I"  feeling  is  often  present,  therefore,  before  the  word  is  used. 
The  concept  of  the  self  is  not  generated,  but  only  rendered  more  exact 
and  definite  by  speech  (8=208).  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  not  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  concept  is  always  present  where  the  word  is  used. 
Children  who  are  constantly  in  the  society  of  those  who  use  the  word 
will  use  it  also,  merely  by  imitation  in  many  cases,  without  compre- 
hending its  meaning.  A  child  may  say  "  I  am  hungry,"  without  any 
idea  that  "  I  "  is  different  from  "  hungry  "  (88).  Perez  says :  "  When 
the  child  learns  to  say  '  I '  or  '  me,'  instead  of  '  Charles  '  or  '  Paul,'  the 
terms  '  I '  and  l  me'  are  not  more  abstract  to  him  than  the  proper  names 
which  he  has  been  taught  to  replace  by  k  I '  or  '  me.'  Both  the  pronouns 
and  the  names  equally  express  a  very  distinct  and  very  concrete  idea  of 
individual  personality.  When  a  three-year-old  child  says  '  I  want  that,' 
it  is  only  a  translation  of  '  Paul  wants  that,'  and  •  I,'  like  '  Paul,'  indi- 
cates neither  the  first  nor  the  third  person,  but  the  person  who 
is  himself,  his  own  well-known  personality,  which  he  continually  feels 
in  his  emotions  and  actions.  An  abstract  notion  of  personality  does  not  j 
exist  in  a  young  child's  mind"  (6:284).  In  short,  so  great  is  the  influ- 
ence of  the  environment  here,  that  scarcely  anything  can  be  asserted  in 
a  general  way  of  all  children.  Some  children  scarcely  ever  hear  the| 
pronoun  "I."  The  members  of  the  family  avoid  it,  and  say  instead: 
"  Mamma  is  busy."    "  Sister  is  gone  to  school."  "Baby  must  be  good,' 


INTELLECT.  49 

etc. ;  in  such  cases,  the  child  will  of  course  take  a  long  time  to  acquire 
the  word. 

In  many  cases,  me  is  used  before  2.  It  seems  easier  for  some  reason. 
Sometimes  children  pass  through  a  sort  of  transition  period,  when  I  is 
used  indifferently  with  the  proper  name,  or  even  with  he  (8).  Binet 
says  of  the  little  girl  he  observed  that  at  three  and  a  half  years  exactly, 
she  first  used  the  word  je,  in  the  sentence  je  ne  sais  pas.  Two  days  after 
she  said  je  ne  veux  pas.  But  long  after  that,  she  made  many  mistakes  in 
the  use  of  the  pronoun.  In  two  other  children,  the  I  took  the  place  of 
the  third  personal  designation  before  the  end  of  the  third  year,  and  J 
preceded  me,  and  you  was  later  than  either  (42).  Another  child  at 
twenty-five  months  used  my,  but  not  /(B). 

Such  are  the  various  factors  entering  into  the  development  of  the 
child's  self-consciousness,  by  which  "he  raises  himself  higher  and 
higher  above  the  dependent  condition  of  the  animal,  so  that  at  last  the 
difference  (not  recognizable  at  all  before  birth,  and  hardly  recognizable 
at  the  beginning  after  birth)  between  animal  and  human  being"  attains 
such  infinite  magnitude. 


CHAPTER  IV.— VOLITION. 

We  now  approach  the  most  difficult  as  well  as  the  most  important 
part  of  our  subject :  the  most  difficult,  because  of  the  exceedingly  com- 
plicated character  of  every  act  of  will ;  the  most  important,  because  of 
the  vast  influence  which  anyone's  theory  of  volition  must  exert  upon 
his  moral  and  religious  ideas.  Not  only  is  it  true  that  "  a  beiug  is 
capable  of  education  and  morality  in  proportion  as  he  is  capable  of 
-will "  (49=44),  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  most  widely  separated  views 
touching  human  responsibility  and  destiny,  have  grown  out  of  apparently 
slight  differences  of  opinion  with  regard  to  the  nature  and  freedom  of 
the  will.  The  following  theories  are  quoted  to  show  the  trend  of  con- 
temporary opinion  on  the  subject,  and  not  to  set  forth  the  present 
writer's  views. 

"  Out  of  the  desire  of  everything  that  has  once  occasioned  pleasurable 
feelings,  is  gradually  developed  the  child's  will "  (2:186).  In  Preyer's 
view,  the  will  is  called  into  life  by  the  union  of  two  representations, 
viz. :  1 1st,  that  of  the  end  desired;  2d,  that  of  the  movement  necessary 
to  attain  the  end.  The  latter  is  not  absolutely  necessary,  and  at  a  later 
period  is  no  longer  formed,  except  in  the  case  of  new  movements.  The 
idea  of  the  end  is  sufficient,  without  that  of  the  means.  Will,  then,  is 
based  upon,  and  grows  out  of,  desire1. 

In  Guyau's  opinion,  also,  a  complete  act  of  will  involves  representa- 
tions of  two  sorts,  viz. :  Of  the  act  about  to  be  performed,  and  of 
another,  contrary  act,  which  might  have  been  performed.  Action,  then, 
is  the  resultant  of  a  struggle  among  tendencies3. 

Perez  says :  u  The  will  is  born  little  by  little  from  reflex,  impulsive 
and  instinctive  movements,  which,  with  the  progress  of  the  faculties  of 
perception  and  ideation,  and  after  having  been  for  a  long  time  executed 
and  varied,  fall  under  the  action  (coup)  .of  the  attention,  and  become 
conscious,  reflected,  and  in  a  word,  voluntary."  Will  in  its  negative 
form  (inhibition),  he  holds  to  be  also  a  matter  at  first  of  mechanism, 
unconscious  and  involuntary},  It  is  a  suppression,  or  at  least  a  reduc- 
tion, of  reflex,  impulsive,  and  instinctive  movements,  by  the  fact  of  an 
excitation  of  the  brain,  a  sensation.  Thus  arrest  consists  at  first  simply 
in  the  substitution  of  one  tendency  for  another  (-26:2)3. 

Wundt,  on  the  contrary,  holds  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  purely 
reflex  and  involuntary  consciousness ;  that  activity  of  attention  is  in 

i  Preyer's  theory  of  the  origin  of  will  is  not,  however,  an  empirical  one,  as  the  follow- 
ing quotation  will  show:    "  It  is  an  error  to  think  that  the  will  arises  from  impressions 

in  youth; a  will  can  never  be  created  in  a  child  from  external  experiences;  it 

must  be  allowed  to  develop  itself  from  the  inborn  germ  of  will  "  (38). 

'-'"  La  pleine  volont6,  c'est-a-dire  ledeploiement  total  dea  energies  IntArieurea,  suppose 
qu'il  la  representation  de  Pacte  meme  qu'onva  accomplir.  s'assocle  la  representation 
affaihlie  f  e  l'acte  contraire.  Et  ainsi,  nous  arrivons  i\ce.t<>  conclusion:  II  n'y  a  pas 
d'acte  pleinement  voluntaire  ou,  ce  que  revlent  au  meme,  plchiement  coi.scient,  qui  no 
eoit  accompagne  du  sentiment  de  la  victolre  decertaines  tendances  Interieurea  sur 
d'aurres,  cons6quemment  d'une  lutte  possible  evtre  ces  tendances,  cons6queiiiment 
enfin  <rune  lutte  possible  contre  o*  s  tendances  "  (40:44). 

3  See  also  Ri  bot, ''Lea  Maladies  de  la  VbionteV'  p.  s.  Bain.  "The  Kmotions  ami  the 
Will,"  Part  II.  Chap.  I.,  and  compare  Prof .  Baldwin's  "Deliberative  BiiffgeHtion,"  in 

which  various  "  co-ordinated  stimuli  meet,  affront,  oppose,  further  tne  another 

response  answering  to  appeal  in  a  complex  but  yet  mechanical  way  "    89  I 


VOLITION.  51 

some  degree  present  even  in  movements  apparently  the  most  mechan- 
ical1. 

Prof.  James  lays  down,  as  the  distinguishing  mark  of  voluntary  move- 
ments, an  antecedent  desire  and  intention  to  perform,  and  consequently 
a  full  prevision  of  what  the  action  is  to  be.  He  therefore  designates 
voluntary  movements  as  secondary  functions  of  our  organism,  while 
"  reflex,  instinctive  and  emotional  movements  are  all  primary  perform- 
ances." He  makes  voluntary  movements  depend  on  memory-images  of 
former  involuntary  ones.  "  When  a  particular  movement,  having  once 
occurred  in  a  random,  reflex  or  involuntary  way,  has  left  an  image  of 
itself  in  the  memory,  then  the  movement  can  be  desired  again,  proposed 
as  an  end,  and  deliberately  willed.  But  it  is  impossible  to  see  how  it 
could  be  willed  before,  f  A  supply  of  ideas  of  the  various  movements  that 
are  possible,  left  in  the  m&mory  by  experiences  of  their  involuntary  perform- 
ance, is  thus  the  first  pre-requisite  of  the  voluntary  life''''  (bo:416)# 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  these  views  corroborate  the  position  taken  in 
the  present  work,  that  mental  phenomena  undergo  a  process  of  trans- 
formation, in  virtue  of  which,  from  being  predominantly  physiological, 
they  become  predominantly  psychical.  We  see  now  the  application  of 
this  law  to  movements  or  actions.  Q^he  earliest  child  movements,  in  the  f 
opinion  of  these  writers,  are  not  voluntary,  but  only  reflex,  iustinctive, 
etc.  Intelligent  apprehension  of  the  end  sought,  and  of  the  means  by 
which  that  end  is  to  be  attained,  has  not  yet  taken  place,  and,  we  may 
add  that,  until  it  has  taken  place,  the  movement  is  no  more  entitled  to  be 
called  an  action  than  is  the  swaying  of  a  branch  in  the  breeze,  or  the 
"action  "of  the  piston-shaft  of  a  locomotive.  The  conscious  subject 
must  first  take  hold  of  the  movement,  and  put  himself  forth  in  intelligent 
direction  of  that  movement  toward  a  conceived  and  desired  end,  and 
then  it  becomes  transformed  into  an  action.  It  seems  necessary  also,  in 
order  to  avoid  misunderstanding,  to  express  our  dissent  from  the  view 
held  by  some  of  these  writers,[that  the  will  is  a  derived  product,  or 
result  of  mechanical  movements',"  a  t-omething  which  has  been  brought 
to  the  birth  by  the  "travail  together"  of  accidental  motions  in  an 
animal  organism.  J  It  is  an  obvious  hysteron  proteron  to  explain  the  rise 
of  will  by  means'  of  this  principle  of  transformation,  while  the  only 
possible  way  of  explaining  the  transformation  is  by  positing  voluntary 
activity.  It  is  said,  for  example,  that  will  is  born  ( !)  little  by  little  out 
of  reflex  and  instinctive  movements,  which  have  come  within  the  scope 
of  the  attention ;  and  again  that  will  is  developed  out  of  the  desire  of 
everything  that  has  occasioned  pleasurable  feeling.  Now  both  atten- 
tion and  desire,  as  we  understand  them,  are  impossible  without  volition. 
They  involve  active  direction  of  the  self  toward  the  object,  and  this  is 
volition.  So  far,  then,  from  being  the  antecedents  of  will,  they  are 
modes  of  its  manifestation,  and  instead  of  ascribing  the  birth  of  will  to 
the  transformation  already  spoken  of,  in  virtue  of  which  movements 
come  within  the  scope  of  the  attention,  we  should  more  correctly 
ascribe  the  transformation  to  the  exerciseof  will.  The  will  is  the  cause 
and  not  the  effect  of  the  transformation.  '  It  is  correct  enough  to  say" 
with  Preyer  that  will  is  developed  in  connection  with  these  movements 
and  desires — if  by  development  is "meant  only  growth  and  not  geiiesis — but 
when  it  is  asserted  that  will  is  generated  out  of  actions  to  which  atten- 
tion and  desire  are  directed,  it  is  only  necessary  to  ask :  Out  of  what 
are  attention  and  desire  generated?  to  reveal  at  once  the  insufficiency  of 
the  explanation. 

This  criticism  is  all  the  more  necessary  here,  because  Prof.  Preyer's 
classification  of  child-movements, — as  the  mo§t  scientific  and  exhaustive 
yet  made, — is  adopted  in  the  following  pages.    It  can  be  accepted  in 

i  "  Menschen  und  Thierseele.1'1 


52  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

toto,  as  a  description  and  classification,  without  our  subscribing  in  the 
least  to  any  particular  theory  of  will-genesis  that  may  have  been 
founded  upon  it.  The  classification  is  as  follows :  First,  we  have  a 
multitude  of  movements,  not  involving  peripheral  stimuli,  but  proceed- 
ing entirely  from  internal  conditions.  They  are  simply  the  result  of  an 
overflow  of  nervous  energy,  and  require  only  motor — not  sensori-motor 
— processes.  They  are,  of  course,  will-less,  and  are  designated  impulsive 
movements.  Secondly,  we  have  those  movements  (very  numerous  in 
the  new-born)  which,  though  requiring  peripheral  stimuli,  and,  there- 
fore, sensori-motor  processes,  do  not  involve  active  attention  or  effort, 
and  are,  therefore,  will-less.  These  are  the  well-known  sensori-motor 
reflexes.  In  the  third  place,  there  is  a  kind  of  movements — found  in  great 
abundance  in  the  human  being,  and  constituting,  probably,  the  majority 
of  the  so-called  actions  of  the  lower  animals  —  for  which  the  physical 
and  emotional  organism  is  specially  fitted  by  the  action  of  heredity. 
These  are  the  instinctive  movements.  Finally  there  supervene  on  all 
these  the  bona  fide  actions  of  the  person,  involving  desire  of  end,  atten- 
tion to  the  object,  and  representation  of,  and  deliberation  upon,  the 
means  of  attainment,  as  well  as  the  conscious  forth-putting  of  the  self 
in  effort  towards  the  realization  of  the  represented  end.  These  are  the 
ideational,  or  consciously  deliberated  and  voluntary  movements.  We 
shall  consider  these  in  this  order,  only  premising  that  because  any  given 
movement  is  here  classed  as  impulsive  or  reflexive,  it  does  not  neces- 
sarily follow  that  it  is  never  to  be  found  in  any  other  class.  A  move- 
ment, the  same  outwardly,  may  be  at  one  time  impulsive  and  at 
another  ideational.  This  is  one  application  of  the  principle  of  trans- 
formation. 

I.— IMPULSIVE    MOVEMENTS. 

The  majority  of  the  embryonic  movements  belong  to  this  class.  From 
the  time  of  "quickening,"  the  foetus  performs  numerous  muscular  move- 
ments (mostly  set  on  by  processes  of  nutrition  and  circulation)  prior 
to  the  first  exercise  of  reflex  sensibility.  In  the  new-born  they  are 
still  numerous,  comprising  all  those  spontaneous  kickings  and  rollings, 
awkward  muscle-movements  and  comical  grimaces,  so  noticeable  in  the 
early  weeks  of  life^  The  hands  strike  right  and  left  and  move  toward 
the  face  without  any  definite  object;  the  legs  tramp  and  kick  when  the 
child  is  held  up  in  the  air  (6:11)  ;  the  eyes  may  be  observed  to  move  be- 
fore the  lids  are  opened;  the  intra-uterine  posture  is  resumed  on  falling 
asleep ;  the  limbs  are  stretched  on  awakening ;  in  short,  almost  every 
muscle  of  the  body  is  exercised  without  any  assignable  peripheral  stim- 
ulus. The  movements  are  often  symmetrical  (by  accident),  but  usually 
at  first  asymmetrical.  Some  of  them  (as  yawning  and  stretching)  per- 
sist through  life,  but  the  majority  have  disappeared  by  the  end  of  the 
second  year.  Many  of  them  are  unexpected  by  the  child  himself ;  he  is 
evidently  surprised  to  find  himself  performing  a  certain  movement,  and 
afterwards  performs  it  voluntarily,  with  numberless  repetitions,  and 
evident  pride  in  the  newly  discovered  ability  (6:18). 

The  first  smile  doubtless  belongs  here,  as  also  the  peculiar  crowing 
heard  so  frequently  in  the  first  year ;  and  the  numerous  "accompany- 
ing "  movements  made  by  the  child  (such  as  holding  the  hands  in  a  cer- 
tain strained  position,  with  the  fingers  spread  out,  while  drinking,  and 
the  dreamy,  wandering  motions  of  the  eyes  during  the  act  of  sucking).  J 
A  sleeping  child  suddenly  threw  up  one  of  his  hands,  which,  coming 
suddenly  into  contact  with  the  eye,  pushed  the  lid  open.  The  infant 
slept  on  with  one  eye  open, — the  pupil  very  much  contracted — until  by- 
and-by  the  hand  dropped  and  the  eye  closed  (2:202). 

Although  possessing  in  themselves  no  direct  volitional  significance, 
yet  these  impulsive  movements  are  indirectly  of  great  importance,  in:is- 


VOLITION.  53 

much  as  they  are  the  raw  materials,  upon  which  the  gradually  awakening 
child-will  exercises  itself ,  making  them  its  own,  and  transforming  them, 
by  means  of  conscious  activity,  into  voluntary  actions  properly  so- 


called._ 


II.— REFLEX     MOVEMENTS. 


These  occur  as  the  response  of  the  nervous  system  to  peripheral  stim- 
tilation,  without  the  participation  of  the  idea.,..  If  they  enter  into  con- 
sciousness at  all,  it  is  only  during  or  after  their  performance^  They  are 
found  in  the  adult  in  great  abundance  as  well  as  in  the  child ;  and  are 
very  well  exemplified  in  the  sudden  movements  of  the  hands  when  one's 
hat  is  blown  off  in  the  street.  Though  heredity  probably  plays  a  con- 
siderable part  in  facilitating  them,  yet  they  do  not  take  place  in  the 
earliest  infancy  with  that  certainty  and  promptness  by  which  they  are 
characterized  in  later  life,  as  we  have  seen  iu  the  case  of  eye  move- 
ments. nVhat  seems  to  be  transmitted  is  a  potentiality,  which  needs  ex- 
perience~to  transform  it  into  an  actuality.J 

The  law  of  transformation  has  an  obvious  application  here.  Indeed 
we  see  in  the  case  of  these  movements  a  double  transformation  :  that 
which  was  at  first  a  reflex  movement  becomes  afterwards  a  voluntary 
one;  and  finally,  by  virtue  of  repetition,  leading  to  the  formation  of  a 
habit,  it  becomes  once  more  reflex  or  automatic.  Probably  all  mouth 
movements  involved  in  the  enunciation  of  articulate  sounds,  pass 
through  all  these  stages,  as  we  shall  see  later. 

Reflex  movements  are  of  great  importance  in  will-growth,  since  upon 
them  the  voluntary  movements,  properly  so-called,  supervene.  On  its 
negative  side  also  (i.  e.,  in  inhibition)  the  will  develops  chiefly  in  cou- 
n^ection  with  the  repression  of  reflexes. 
[In  the  earlier  stages  of  foetal  life,  according  to  Preyer,  no  reflex  move- 
ments can  be  elicited,  be  the  stimuli  never  so  strong  and  varied ;  and 
even  after  there  have  occurred  many  movements  of  an  impulsive  nature 
(2:2U).  But  reflex  excitability  increases  very  rapidly  in  the  later 
months,  even  gentle  stroking  calling  forth  many  movements.  Swal- 
lowing as  a  reflex  occurs  at  this  time ;  and  fcetal  movements  can  be 
evoked  by  changes  of  temperature.'  Champneys  says  the  curling  up  of 
the  toes,  and  jerking  away  of '  the  foot  when  the  sole  is  tick- 
led (which  Mr.  Darwin  observed  on  the  seventh  day  of  life),  can  be 
produced  in  utero.  Only  from  the  beginning  of  extra-uterine  life,  how- 
ever, does  the  reflex  activity  of  the  nervous  system  obtain  full  play. 
And  here  the  earliest  and  most  prominent  are  the  various  respiration 
reflexes.  The  first  cry  is  undoubtedly  of  this  character,  since  brainless 
children  make  themselves  heard  in  the  first  minutes  of  life  as  well  as 
normal  children.1  {Sneezing,  too,  which  in  many  new-born  children 
takes  the  place  of  crying,  is  a  pure  reflex,  as  it  continues  to  be  through 
life,jthough  the  complex  coordination  of  many  muscles,  by  which  it  is 
accompanied,  is  not  so  complete  in  the  child  as  in  the  man.  Other  re- 
flex movements  connected  with  respiration  are  coughing,  wheezing,, 
choking,  laughing  when  tickled,  hiccoughing,  and  the  like,  all  of  which, 
with  the  exception  of  laughter,  may  probably  be  observed  in  the  first 
week.  A  striking  proof  of  the  reflex  sensibility  of  the  respiratory  ap- 
paratus is  seen  in  the  fact  that  a  noise,  just  loud  enough  not  to  awaken 
the  sleeping  child,  has  the  effect  of  increasing  the  rapidity  of  the  res- 
pirations (2:217). 

Starting  at  any  sound  or  jar,  is  not  present  at  the  very  first,  but 
makes  its  appearance  early.  Generally  there  is  silence  for  a  moment 
after  the  disturbance,  as  though  the  energies  were  temporarily  paral- 
yzed.   Champneys  observed  this  starting  first  in  the  fourth  week,  but 

1  See  several  cases  cited  by  Taine,  ■'Intelligence, "  Part  I.  Book  IV.  chap.  1. 


54  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

the  child  would  not  start  twice  at  the  same  noise,  unless  it  was  very 
loud.  Children  are  very  susceptible  to  nervous  stimuli,  as  is  evident 
from  the  frequency  of  convulsions  in  infant  life. 

Reflex  movements  of  the  limbs  are  numerous,  prompt  and  early.  Ou 
the  seventh  day  Darwin  tickled  the  sole  of  his  child's  foot  with  a  piece 
of  paper ;  the  foot  was  jerked  away  and  the  toes  curled  up.  He  remarks : 
|Q'  The  perfection  of  these  involuntary  movements  shows  that  the  ex- 
)t  treme  imperfection  of  the  voluntary  ones  is  not  due  to  the  state  of  the 
muscles,  or  of  the  coordinating  centres,  but  to  that  of  the  seat  of  the 
will.7'  On  the  fourth  day  another  child  clasped  a  finger  laid  in  his 
hand  (13).  From  the  fourteenth  day  on,  tickling  the  sleeping  child's 
temple  was  followed  by  a  movement  of  the  hand  toward  the  place, 
though  the  hand  did  not  always  find  the  right  spot  (2:220).  The  left 
hand  did  not  always  respond,  in  Preyer's  experiments,  to  stimulus  ap- 
plied to  the  left  side,  nor  the  right  hand  to  the  right  side;  but  Pfliiger 
found  the  responses  constant  in  this  respect. \  There  seems,  indeed,  to 
be  two  sorts  of  reflexes  :  the  inborn  (such  as  spreading  the  toes  on  tick- 
-  ling),  which  occur  from  the  first  hour  of  life  with  perfect  regularity 
and  accuracy ;  and  the  acquired  reflexes,  whiph  are  neither  prompt  nor 
certain  at  first,  but  become  so  on  repetition.  J 

Very  important  in  this  connection  are  the  feflex  eye-movements  of  the 
new-born  child.  The  examples  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  re- 
sponses of  the  infant  eye  to  impressions  of  light, — turning  towards  the 
light,  following  a  moving  light  or  brightly  colored  object,  etc., — are 
mostly  examples  of  reflex  movements,  as  are  also  those  movements  of 
the  «yes  which  follow  touch-impressions  on  the  lashes,  lids,  etc. 
According  to  Preyer,  there  are  "  six  different  regular  reflex  movements 
from  the  optic  nerve  to  the  motor  oculi  alone,  which  appear  in  the 
case  of  light  impressions." 

Least  developed  of  all  in  the  earliest  period  are  the  pain-reflexes.  The 
new-born  in  many  cases  makes  no  response  whatever  to  the  prick  of  a 
pin,  as  Genzmer  has  shown  (  9).  The  response  takes  plaeey-however, 
when  the  stimulus  is  such  as  to  affect  a  large  number  of  nerve  ends  at  the 
same  time  (a  slap  for  example).  This  tardiness  of  pain-reflexes  in  the 
new-born  does  not  show  that  he  is  insensible  to  pain, — though  he  is, 
probably,  less  sensitive  than  the  adult  in  this  respect, — but  simply  that 
the  nerve  connections  which  make  reflex  movements  possible,  are  in  the 
case  of  pain  sensations  less  developed  than  those  of  the  skin  and  mu- 
cous membrane. 

Finally  the  inhibition  of  reflexes,  by  which  the  will  of  the  child  devel- 
ops on  its  negative  side,  is  very  difficult,  and  therefore  a  late  attain- 
ment. In  one  case  it  was  observed  as  early  as  the  tenth  month,  when 
the  child  for  the  first  time  restrained  his  excretions  (2  ) ;  in  another,  dur- 
ing the  first  quarter  of  the  second  year,  when  the  child  checked  an  im- 
pulse to  scratch  C89) ;  and  in  a  third,  in  the  fifteenth  month.  In  marked 
contrast  10  this  is  the  inhibition  of  reflexes  in  the  lower  animals,  where 
it  often  takes  place  before  the  end  of  the  fu'tal  period. 

III.— INSTINCTIVE  MOVEMENTS. 

These  differ  from  impulsive  movements  in  that  they  do  not  occur  in 
the  absence  of  appropriate  peripheral  stimuli.  Titer*'  is  in  the  child 
an  inborn  instinct  to  seize  with  the  hand,  but  this  movement  takes  place 
only  when  the  palm  comes  into  contact  with  an  object.  They  differ 
from  impulsive  movements  also  in  having  an  end  or  purpose,  though 
this    end    may    not    be    known    at    the    time  of  their    performance.2 

'  So  also  Baldwin.    Bee  "  Infants'  Movements"  in  8ctsnett  Jan.  8,  1892 

'-'Inst 'net  is the  faculty  of  a'-li'iL'  in  such   a    wfty    M  to  produce  Certain  ends 

without  foresight  of  the  ends,  and  \\  Ithoitt  previous   education   in   the   performance" 

(80:301). 


VOLITION.  55 

Besides  the  stimulus,  they  require  a  certain  emotional  condition.     The 
child  in  a  sorrowful  frame  of  mind  does  not  laugh  when  his  toes  are 
tickled.    They  differ  from  ideational  movements  in  the  absence  of  a 
pattern,  and  of  any  conscious  effort,  or  previous  representation. 
T  One  of  the  strongest  instincts  in  the  child  is  to  seize  objects  and  carry 

'*'  them  to  his  mouthj  Attempts  at  this  have  been  observed  as  early  as 
the  fourth  day.  This  propensity  to  make  the  mouth  the  test-organ  for 
all  sorts  of  objects,  has  been  explained  by  the  hypothesis  that  the  lips 
may  have  been  used  in  conjunction  with  the  hands  in  an  earlier  period 
of  race-progress,  much  more  extensively  than  at  present  (13).  The 
movements  of  the  hands  to  the  mouth  may  be  at  first  accidental,  and 
then  instinctive,  a9  in  painful  teething.  It  finally  becomes  reflex 
through  the  formation  of  habits.  The  contraposition  of  the  thumb  in 
seizing  objects  is  quite  slowly  learned  (in  one  case  as  late  as  the  12th 
week).  This  is  in  marked  contrast  to  the  facility  with  which  young 
monkeys,  less  than  a  week  old,  oppose  the  thumb  in  seizing. 

As  to  the  rise  of  right  or  left-handedness,  Professor  Baldwin  has 
made  a  large  number  of  experiments,  whose  results  may  be  summarized 

'  as  follows : 

(1)  No  trace  of  preference  for  either  hand  was  discernible  so  long 
as  there  were  no  violent  muscular  exertions  made.  In  over  2,000  ex- 
periments, one  hand  was  preferred  as  often  as  the  other. 

(2)  From  the  sixth  to  the  tenth  month,  the  tendency  to  use  both 
hands  together  was  about  twice  as  great  as  the  tendency  to  use  either 
hand  alone.  (The  figures  are :  Number  of  experiments,  2,187 ;  right 
hand  used  alone  585  times,  left  hand  alone  568  times,  both  hands 
together  1,034  times.) . 

(8)  Right-handness  developed  under  the  pressure  of  muscular  effort. 
Preference  for  the  right  hand  in  violent  efforts  in  reaching  appeared  in 
the  seventh  and  eighth  months.  Experiments  made  in  the  eighth  month 
gave  this  result :  Right  hand  74,  left  5,  both  1.  Under  the  stimulus 
of  bright  colors,  the  right  hand  was  employed  84  times,  and  the  left 
hand  only  twice C15).1 

Often  there  is  a  period  of  left-handedness  in  children  who  afterwards 
become  right-handed  (42),  (K).  Sigismund  believes  that  most  children 
up  into  the  third  year  prefer  to  use  both  hands  together. 
f  Among  instinctive  mouth  movements  the  earliest  and  most  perfect  is 
sucking.  Sometimes,  however,  even  this  movement  is  far  from  perfect 
at  the  beginning.  Many  of  the  earliest  efforts  are  quite  fruitless,  owing 
to  failure  in  co-ordination.  This  movement  doubtless  took  place  before 
birth,  since  it  may  be  observed  from  the  first  moments  of  life.  On  its 
development,  Kussmaul  remarks  to  the  following  effect :  An  advance 
is  made  on  the  mere  reflexes  when  the  child  sucks  the  finger  thrust  in- 
to his  mouth,  or  the  nipple  of  the  breast.  Here  we  have  not  only  sen- 
sation, awakening  movement,  but  also  feelings  of  pleasure  or  dis- 
pleasure, with  answering  endeavors  and  mental  representations  of  the 
simplest  kind.  Finally  the  will  learns  to  regulate  these  movements  in 
the  interests  of  the  individual. 

Other  instinctive  mouth  movements  are  biting  (which  begins  about 
the  fourth  or  fifth  month,  and  supersedes  sucking  from  the  tenth  month), 
chewing  (which  is  performed  with  perfect  regularity  from  the  fourth 
month),  grinding  the  teeth  (which  is  quite  original,  and  probably  practiced 
by  all  babes  during  teething),  and  licking  (which  is  performed  in  the  first 
twenty-four  hours  "hardly  less  adroitly  than  in  the  seventh  month" (2: 7ei). 

'Prof.  Baldwin  sees,  in  the  fact  that  preference  for  the  right  hand  was  developed  only 
in  connection  with    muscular    effort,    an   argument    in    favor  of    the  "innervation 
theory.    For  the  opposite  opinion  see  a  short  article  hy  Prof.  James  in  Science,  14 
Nov.,  1890. 


56  THE   PSYCHOLOGY  OF   CHILDHOOD. 

Learning  to  walk  involves  a  whole  series  of  preliminary  accomplish- 
ments, first  among  which  is  the  ability  to  hold  the  head  in  equilibrium, 
which  may  be  accepted  as  the  criterion  of  the  rise  of  voluntary  power. 
This  is  usually  accomplished  about  the  fourth  month  (2:2M).  The  next 
stage  is  reached  a  month  or  two  later  in  the  ability  to  sit  alone  upright. 
When  this  is  successfully  accomplished  for  the  first  time,  the  soles  of 
the  feet  are  frequently  turned  towards  each  other — a  partial  re-assump- 
tion of  the  intra-uterine  posture.  To  stand  alone  is  the  next  stage;  and 
anyone  who  has  watched  the  attempts  of  a  little  child  to  stand  upright 
and  walk  will  be  convinced  that  he  is  moved  to  this  by  a  natural 
instinst.1 

It  is  an  important  epoch  in  a  child's  life  when  he  succeeds  in  standing 
alone.  Whole  sets  of  muscles,  heretofore  scarcely  used,  are  now 
brought  into  activity,  and  his  progress  is,  from  this  time  on,  more  all- 
sided  and  symmetrical.  Hitherto  his  locomotion  has  been  only  in  the 
form  of  creeping  (which  is  performed  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  some 
children  paddling  straight  ahead  on  all  fours,  like  little  quadrupeds, 
some  hitching  along  in  an  indescribable  manner  on  their  haunches,  and 
some  going  backwards,  crab-fashion) ;  but  for  the  child  who  has  learnt 
to  stand  alone,  the  transition  to  walking  is,  in  a  very  literal  sense, 
"only  a  step."  The  first  conscious  steps  are  taken  very  timidly,  and 
with  an  evident  fear  of  falling.  But  frequently  the  first  steps  are 
taken  unconsciously  (42).  Sometimes  a  child  who  has  learnt  to  walk, 
partially  or  wholly,  reverts  for  a  season  to  creeping,  for  no  apparent 
reason.  Children  who  have  older  brothers  or  sisters  are  likely  to  walk 
at  an  earlier  age  than  others,  on  account  of  the  example  and  assistance 
of  these  older  ones.  At  first  the  feet  are  placed  disproportionately  wide 
apart,  giving  rise  to  a  curious  waddling  motion;  while  sometimes  a  child 
runs  instead  of  walking,  and  staggers,  with  the  body  inclined  forward, 
and  the  hands  stretched  out  as  though  he  were  afraid  of  falling,  the 
feet,  too,  being  lifted  higher  than  is  necessary.  Many  children  seem 
more  amiable  after  they  have  learned  to  walk,  doubtless  on  account  of 
their  newly  acquired  ability,  which  not  only  occupies  their  attention,  but 
enables  them  to  go  more  readily  to  the  objects  of  their  desire  (M). 

It  is  perhaps  scarcely  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 
movement  may  be  instinctive  and  yet  not  make  its  appearance  at  the 
very  beginning  of  life ;  nor  to  the  fact  that  instincts  are  not  absolutely 
invariable,  but  are  subject  both  to  inhibition  by  habits  and  also  to  natural 
decay  from  desuetude. - 

*T5£ — IDEATIONAL  MOVEMENTS. 

Finally,  in  virtue  of  the  aimless  and  will-less  execution  of  vast  num- 
bers of  movements  of  the  nature  of  those  already  treated, — impulsive, 
reflexive  and  instinctive, — it  at  length  comes  to  pass  that  movements  are 
performed  which  are  the  expression  of  the  conscious  self,  the  index  of 
will  in  the  true  and  only  proper  sense  of  the  word,  involving  a  previous 
representation  of  the  end  sought,  and  (in  their  earlier  stages)  of  the 
movements  involved  in  attaining  that  end,  as  well  as  a  deliberate  forth- 
putting  of  the  self  in  conscious  effort  towards  the  attainment.  To  such 
movements,  and  to  such  only,  should  the  name  of  actions  be  applied. 
All  others  are  only  movements.  It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  little 
child  passes  per  saltum  from  the  condition  indicated  in  the  previous  sec- 
tions of  this  chapter,  to  that  of  explicit  self-conscious  activity.  Indeed, 
it  would  be  a  very  false  view  of  child-development  that  represented  the 

1  Sigismund  graphically  describes  the  child's  first  attempts  to  stand  i a  these  words: 
"Das  Kind  1st  selbst  von  seiner  Verwegenbeit  ilberrascht,  steht  iiugstllch  niit  weit 
gestellten  FUssen,  und  lliwt  sich  bald  etwas  iimsanft  nieder"  (1:98) 

-See  Prof.  James'  chapter  on  Instinct,  "Principles  of  Psychology,"  Vol.  II. 


VOLITION.  57 

various  stages  as  following  one  another  in  rigid  succession,  with  hard 
and  fast  lines  showing  where  the  one  ends  and  the  next  begins.  They 
are  rather  to  be  compared  to  surfaces,  whose  boundaries,  vaguely  out- 
lined, overlap  each  other.  There  are  a  few  impulsive  movements,  and 
very  many  reflex  and  instinctive  ones,  persisting  to  the  end  of  life. 

We  shall  find  it  convenient  to  follow  Prof.  Preyer's  subdivision  of 
ideational  movements  into  three  classes.  In  the  lowest  class,  we  have 
movements  of  imitation,  which,  though  indicating  activity  of  will  (at 
least  in  their  later  stages),  yet  depend  on  a  model  or  pattern,  and  are 
never  performed  by  the  child  unless  he  first  observes  their  performance 
by  others.  Next  we  have  expressive  movements,  which,  as  the  name 
indicates,  are  a  more  or  less  conscious  expression  of  feelings  and 
desires ;  and  finally,  the  full-fledged  deliberative  actions. 

(a).  Imitative  Movements.  These  may  be  divided  into  two  species, 
viz. :  Simple  imitation,  in  which  the  movement  is  only  an  approximate 
imitation,  and  no  second  attempt  is  made ;  and  persistent  imitation, 
"  which  marks  the  transition  from  suggestion  to  will,  from  the  reactive 
to  the  voluntary  consciousness"  (39).  The  former  is  exemplified  in  the 
single,  isolated  attempt  on  the  child's  part  to  reproduce  a  sound  made 
by  another  person ;  the  latter,  in  the  repeated  efforts  of  a  girl  of  four- 
teen months  to  put  a  rubber  on  a  pencil,  after  having  seen  her  father 
do  it  (39),  or  of  a  boy  of  twelve  months,  to  get  a  cord  into  the  hole  of  a 
spool  (M). 

Two  points  should  be  mentioned  before  we  proceed  to  record  observa- 
tions in  this  connection.  First :  When  a  child  for  the  first  time  volun- 
tarily imitates  a  given  movement,  which  he  has  already  performed 
involuntarily  a  number  of  times,  he  does  it  far  less  perfectly  than  when 
he  did  it  without  conscious  imitation.  "  If  I  clear  my  throat,  or  cough 
purposely,  without  looking  at  the  child,  he  often  gives  a  little  cough 
likewise,  in  a  comical  manner.  But  if  I  ask:  "Can  you  cough?'' he 
coughs,  but  generally  copying  less  accurately"  (2:28s ),  'second  :  It  must 
not  be  supposed,  even  when  the  child  imitates  a  movement  deliberately 
and  with  a  clear  idea  of  it,  that  he  understands  in  every  case  the  mean- 
ing of  the  movement.  One  child,  in  the  ten  month,  had  learned  to 
imitate  the  movement  of  beckoning,  but  he  showed  by  the  expression  of 
his  face  and  the  attendant  gestures,  that  he  did  not  in  the  least  compre- 
hend the  significance  of  the  beckoning  (  " ). 

As  early  as  the  third  and  fourth  months,  according  to  one  writer, 
children  perform  little  tricks  which  indicate  the  buddings  of  the 
imitative  propensity.  Raw  attempts  at  vocal  imitation  may  be  observed 
even  in  the  second  month,  when  the  child  makes  a  response  to  words 
addressed  to  him.  This,  however,  is  mechanical.  In  the  third  month 
the  child  will  imitate  looks,  i.  e.,  he  will  look  at  an  object  which  others 
are  looking  at  (6:89).  Egger  saw,  in  the  sixth  month,  an  instance 
of  imitation,  together  with  the  act  of  recollection  which  it  involves  (36). 
Champneys  says  of  his  child:  "About  the  thirteenth  week  he  began  to 
appear  to  attempt  to  join  in  conversation,  with  a  variety  of  articulate 
sounds,  if  talking  was  going  on  in  the  room."  Preyer  observes  :  The 
first  attempt  at  imitation  occurred  in  the  fifteenth  week,  the  child  mak- 
ing an  attempt  to  purse  the  lips  when  one  did  it  close  in  front  of  him. 
In  the  seventeenth  week,  the  "protruding  of  the  tip  of  the  tongue 
between  the  lips  was  perfectly  imitated  once  when  done  before  the 
child's  face,  and  the  child  in  fact  smiled  directly  at  this  strange  move- 
ment, which  seemed  to  please  him  "  (2:284). 

There  is  no  point  on  which  I  find  so  much  uniformity  as  this,  that 
imitation  begins  during  the  second  half  of  the  first  year.  This  is  true  of 
almost  all  children  without  exception,  so  far  as  I  know,  and  extends 
not  only  to  movements  proper,  but  also  to  vocal  imitation,  as  we  shall 
see.  A  boy  of  seven  months  tried  hard  to  say  simple  monosyllables  after 


58  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

his  mother  (12).  Another  is  reported  to  have  accomplished  his  first 
unmistakable  imitations  when  seven  months  old,  in  movements  of  the 
head  and  lips,  laughing,  and  the  like.  Crying  was  imitated  in  the 
ninth  month,  and  in  the  tenth,  imitation  of  all  sorts  was  quite  correctly 
executed,  though  even  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  new  movements,  and 
those  requiring  complex  coordination,  often  failed  (2).  A  child  of 
eight  and  a  half  months,  having  seen  his  mother  poke  the  fire,  after- 
wards crept  to  the  hearth,  seized  the  poker,  thrust  it  into  the 
ash-pan,  and  poked  it  back  and  forth  with  great  glee,  chuck- 
ling to  himself  (19).  Another  child,  in  his  tenth  month,  imitated 
whistling,  and  later,  the  motions  accompanying  the  familiar  "  pat-a- 
cake,'*  etc.  In  his  eleventh  month  he  used  to  hold  up  the  news- 
paper, and  mumble  in  imitation  of  reading  (M).  Another  boy,  in  his 
eleventh  month,  used  to  cough  and  suiff  like  his  grandfather,  and 
amused  himself  by  grunting,  crowing,  gobbling  and  barking  in  imitation 
of  the  domestic  animals  and  birds  (c).  A  little  girl  of  this  age  used  to 
reproduce  with  her  doll  some  of  her  own  experiences,  such  as  giving  it  a 
bath,  punishing  it,  kissing  it,  and  singing  it  to  sleep. 

One  fine  morning  in  May  I  took  the  little  boy,  R.,  for  a  walk  through  a 
beautiful  avenue,  where  the  trees  on  each  side  met  overhead  in  a  mass 
of  foliage.  These  trees  were  full  of  birds,  busy  with  their  nest  building, 
and  full  of  song.  The  little  fellow  was  fairly  enchanted.  He  could  not 
go  on.  Every  few  steps  he  would  stop  (at  the  same  time  pulling  at 
my  hand  to  make  me  stop,  too),  and  looking  up  into  the  trees,  with  his 
head  turned  on  one  side,  would  give  back  the  bird-song  in  a  series  of 
warbling,  trilling  notes  of  indescribable  sweetness.  I  very  much  doubt 
whether  any  adult  voice,  however  trained,  or  any  musical  instrument, 
however  complicated,  could  reproduce  those  wonderful  inflections. 
The  same  boy,  a  little  later,  used  to  imitate  with  his  voice 
the  boys  whistling  in  the  street,  giving  the  right  pitch.  Another  boy, 
at  thirteen  months,  brushes  his  hair,  tries  to  put  on  his  shoes  arid 
stockings,  and  many  other  similar  things  (c).  Indeed  the  whole  life  of 
the  child  of  this  age  is  full  of  imitation.  Going  out  with  the  girl,  F.,  I 
observed  that  she  did  almost  everything  I  did;  1  brushed  some  dust  from 
my  coat  and  she  immediately  "  brushed"  hor  dress  in  like  manner.  It  is  in 
fact  difficult  fully  to  realize  how  the  child  of  this  age  is  watching  our 
every  movement,  and  learning  thereby.  Not  only  parents  and  teachers, 
but  every  one  who  comes  in  contact  with  the  child,  even  casually  and 
occasionally,  contributes  his  share,  whether  he  will  or  not,  in  the  child's 
education.    The  moral  of  this  is  too  obvious  to  require  repetition. 

(6)  Expressive  Movements.  These  arise  out  of  those  already  treated 
of.  Impulsive,  reflex,  instinctive,  and  even  the  simpler  imitative  move- 
ments, are  not  intentional  expressions  of  mental  states.  But  a  move- 
ment which  was  at  first  impulsive  or  reflex  may  become  the  manifesta- 
tion of  such  states.  The  first  cry  and  the  first  puckering  of  the  mouth 
(which  Kussmaul  noticed  In  children  less  than  an  hour  old,  when  a 
bitter  substance  was  brought  into  contact  with  the  tongue)  are  only 
the  reaction  of  the  organism  to  external  stimuli.  But  later,  both  the 
cry  and  the  gesture  fall  within  the  control  of  the  will,  and  are  trans- 
formed into  the  purposive  utterances  of  the  conscious  self.  Many,  per- 
haps most,  of  the  expressive  movement?  are  impulsive  or  other  move- 
ments which  have  been  thus  transformed. 

The  first  so-called  smi/e,  for  example  (which  may  be  observed  in 
children  less  than  two  weeks  old),  is  simply  an  impulsive  movement 
resulting  from  agreeable  feeling ;  and  a  reflex  laugh  may  be  elicited 
from  a  child  very  early  by  tickling  the  soles  of  his  feet.  In  one  case 
the  first  real  smiles  were  observed  from  the  26th.  day  on;  and  in  the 
eighth  week  enjoyment  of  music  was  manifested  by  laughing  aud  smil- 
ing, accompanied  by  lively  movements  of  the  limbs,  ami  a  bright,  gleam- 


VOLITION.  59 

ing  expression  of  the  eyes.  The  imitative  laugh  began  about  the  ninth 
month  (2  ).  Egger  thinks  the  time  when  intelligence,  properly  speaking, 
appears  is  marked  by  the  advent  of  the  laugh,  which  he  observed  for 
the  first  time  after  the  fortieth  day(36).  Sigismund  first  observed  a 
smile  in  the  seventh  week.  Many  children,  he  says,  smile  first  in  sleep ; 
then  soon  after  in  response  to  the  friendly  looks  of  others.  This 
responsive  smile  he  believes  is  the  first  sign  of  consciousness  of  and 
response  to  sensations  received  from  others  (1:8°).  Many  have  observed 
the  smile  as  early  as  the  second  and  third  or  even  the  first  week,  but 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  no  one  attributes  conscious  expression  to  the 
smile  of  a  child  less  than  a  month  old.  Mr.  Darwin  believes  he  saw  a 
smile  of  mental  origin  on  the  forty-fifth  day.  M.  Guyau  thinks  the 
smile  is  reflex  in  its  origin.  Tiedemann  observed  a  smile  in  the  second 
month,  and  genuine  laughter  in  the  third.  So  also  several  others.  The 
boy  C,  laughed  aloud  when  being  undressed.  He  was  then  three 
months  old.  Three  weeks  later,  when  some  one  was  reading  aloud,  he 
laughed  and  cooed  until  the  reader  was  obliged  to  stop.  He  evidently 
thought  the  reading  was  intended  for  his  special  entertainment.  A  boy 
of  the  same  age  laughed  aloud  one  day  without  any  apparent  cause  (M). 
The  psychic  development  of  the  smile  is  well  stated  in  the  following 
words :  "The  smile  begins  when  the  infant  first  begins  to  be  conscious 
of  outside  things;  attention  gradually  becomes  closer  and  more  fixed; 
the  smile  at  this  stage  is  the  mere  stare,  vacant  at  first,  but  growing 
steadily  more  intelligent  and  wondering  in  its  appearance.  About  the 
third  week  this  begins  to  relax  very  slightly  into  the  appearance  of 
pleasure.  At  this  point  there  comes  first  more  and  more  of  a  glow  on 
the  face — a  beaming — then  in  a  day  or  two  a  very  slight  relaxation  of 
the  muscles,  increasing  every  day.  This  dawning  smile  is  often  very 
beautiful,  but  it  is  not  yet  a  smile.  It  is  almost  a  smile,  but  I  am  con- 
fident no  one  will  ever  know  the  exact  day  when  the  baby  fairly  and 
intelligently  for  the  first  time  smiles"  (16). 

On  Pouting  and  Pursing  the  Lips  as  an  expressive  movement,  Preyer 
observes  in  substance  :  There  are  three  sorts  of  pouting,  differing  from 
each  other  according  to  the  cause.  (First,  there  is  a  protrusion  of  the 
lips,  which  may  be  observed  in  some  children  from  the  first  hour  of 
life,  and  which  is  purely  impulsive.  Secondly,  the  pursing  of  the 
mouth  when  attention  is  closely  strained  (as  in  learning  to  write  or 
draw).  This  appears  as  early  as  the  fifth  week,  and  continues  to  the 
end  of  life  in  many  instances.  Thirdly,  the  pout  of  sullenness,  which 
makes  its  appearance  much  later  than  the  others,  and  is  not  due  to 
imitation  (for  it  occurred  where  there  had  been  no  opportunity  for 
imitation),  but  is  undoubtedly  hereditary  (  2:8oi). 

The  kiss,  as  an  expressive  action,  is,  on  the  other  hand,  not  hereditary, 
but  acquired.  Some  nations  do  not  practice  it.  The  child  has  to  learn 
it,  and  he  is  somewhat  late  in  learning  it,  as  observations  show.  Very 
seldom  does  the  child  understand  its  meaning,  or  give  it  spontaneously, 
until  the  second  year  of  life. 

The  child's  cry  is  at  first  not  expressive ;  and  when  it  becomes  so,  it 
varies  greatly  in  different  children.  According  to  one  observer,  "Crying 
took  place  at  first  without  any  squaring  of  the  mouth,  the  sound  was  that 
of  'nga'  as  expressed  in  German.  It  must  have  been  produced  by  closing 
the  fauces  by  contact  of  the  pillars  of  the  fauces  and  the  soft  palate,  so 
as  to  send  all  the  sound  through  the  nose.  Vowel  sounds  were  then 
produced  by  separating  the  soft  palate  and  the  pillars  of  the  fauces, 
and  allowing  the  sound  to  come  through  the  mouth"  (14).  He  goes  on 
to  say  that  the  child  seemed  to  cry  at  first  foiflthree  reasons  :  Loneli- 
ness or  fright,  hunger,  or  pain;  and  these  cries  seemed  all  different  in 
character ;  but  he  does  not  say  when  this  difference  became  apparent. 
The  first  crying  is  only  squalling ;  it  has  no  expressive  intonations.    The 


60  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

transition  from  the  meaningless  cry  to  the  significant  voice,  with  differ- 
ent cries  to  express  different  mental  states,  has  been  observed  as  early 
as  the  second  month  (86),  and  in  other  cases  during  the  third  month 
( 8  )>  (")•  r^e  little  girl,  W.,  when  four  months  old  "expressed  hunger 
by  cries  that  were  short  and  shrill,  following  each  other  rapidly,  and 
not  so  loud  as  other  cries."1 

Weeping.  The  new  born  do  not  shed  tears,  no  matter  how  hard  they 
cry.  At  a  later  period  they  cry  and  weep  together,  and  they  can  also 
cry  without  weeping.  But  to  weep  without  crying  comes  much  later, 
and  is  comparatively  rare  in  childhood.  One  or  two  cases  are  reported 
of  tears  being  shed  by  children  two  weeks  old  (M),  C65),  but  most  of  the 
observations  point  to  a  later  date.  In  one  case  the  first  tears  were  shed 
at  the  end  of  the  third  week  (u),  in  another  in  the  fourth  week(2), 
while  in  other  cases  tears  were  seen  to  flow  down  the  face  in  the  sixth, 
ninth,  twelfth,  fourteenth,  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  weeks  respectively. 
Darwin's  child  shed  tears  in  the  twentieth  week,  but  as  early  as  the 
tenth  his  eyes  were  moist  in  violent  crying.  He  thinks  that  children  do 
not  usually  shed  tears  until  the  second,  third  or  fourth  month.  From 
the  second  year  onward,  children  weep  much  more  easily  than  at  an 
earlier  period,  and,  later  still,  the  inhibition  both  of  tears  and  crying 
is  a  significant  mark  of  the  growing  power  of  the  will. 

Nodding  the  headin  assent,  and  shaking  it  in  refusal,  are  at  first  entirely 
different  from  each  other  in  mental  significance.  The  latter  is  an  in-born 
reflexive  or  instinctive  movement,  while  the  former  is  acquired.  The 
child  who  has  satisfied  his  hunger,  will  turn  his  head  from  side  to  side 
in  refusal  of  further  proffered  nourishment  when  less  than  a  week  old. 
This  movement  becomes  expressive  almost  from  the  first.  It  is  gener- 
ally accompanied  by  the  partial  closing  of  the  eyes,  and  often  by  arm- 
movements  of  "  warding  off."  Nodding  in  one  case  was  not  imitated 
until  the  fourteenth  month,  and  even  then  very  imperfectly.  Even 
after  it  was  finally  learnt,  its  meaning  was*  often  confounded  with  that  of 
shaking  the  head.  The  child  would  shake  his  head  for  "  yes,"  and  nod 
it  for  "  no."  In  another  case,  both  nodding  and  shaking  the  head  had 
become  expressive  by  the  fifteenth  month  (6:21). 

Other  examples  of  expressive  movements  which  may  be  observed  in 
children  at  a  very  early  age,  are  the  following:  Clasping  the  hands  to- 
gether, or  waving  them  very  quickly  back  and  forwards,  or  up  and 
down,  to  express  eager  desire  for  something;  reaching  out  with  uplifted 
hands  and  extended  arms  for  the  same  purpose,  or  even  sometimes 
clapping  the  hands  quickly  together,  after  the  manuer  of  an  "encore;  " 
violent  straightening  of  the  back  in  auger;  a  curious  bearing,  almost  in- 
describable, showing  vanity;  besides  several  gestures  expressive  of 
affectation,  and  a  variety  of  facial  expressions  and  vocal  inflections  im- 
possible to  describe.  "Jealousy,  pride,  pugnacity,  covetousuess,  lend 
to  the  childish  countenance  a  no  less  characteristic  look  than  do  gener- 
osity, obedience,  ambition."  All  these  facial  expressions  and  bodily 
movements  "  appear  in  greater  purity  in  the  child,  who  does  not  dis- 
semble, than  they  do  in  later  life  "  (2:'as). 

(c)  Deliberative  Movements.  Finally  we  reach  that  stage — not  neces- 
sarily subsequent  to  all  the  others,  but  partially  synchronous  with 
them — in  which  the  will  rises  to  its  proper  place  as  "  master  of  cere- 
monies," brings  into  subjection  the  impulsive  and  instinctive  tendencies 
of  which  we  have  spoken,  and  assumes  control  of  the  child's  activities. 
To  express  this  truth  by  saying  that  the  faculty  of  will  has  come  into 
being,  is  misleading,  simply  because  there  is  no  "  faculty  "  of  will  con- 
sidered as  a  separate  entity.   The  will  is  the  person  considered  as  active ; 

i  For  further  remarks  on  this  transition  from  the  meaningless  to  the  significant  cry 
•see  chap.  V.,  sec.  3. 


VOLITION.  61 

and,  instead  of  saying  that,  with  the  advent  of  what  we  call  ideational 
movements,  the  will  is  born,  and  with  that  of  deliberative  movements 
it  is  perfected,  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say  that  these  movements 
are  the  first  outward  indications  that  the  child  is  becoming  the  con- 
scious master  of  his  own  activity. 

In  order  to  perform  deliberative  or  voluntary  actions  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  term,  it  is  necessary  that  the  child  should  have  had  expe- 
rience of  a  large  number  of  movements  of  the  involuntary  sort.  For, 
like  the  man,  he  can  create  nothing ;  the  most  he  can  do,  is  to  combine 
and  separate,  to  analyze  and  synthesize  the  materials  that  come  to  his 
hand.  Man's  greatest  achievements  consist  simply  in  modifying,  chang- 
ing, separating,  combining  and  rearranging  familiar  material.  So  the 
I  child  in  all  his  numerous  movements  accomplishes  nothing  absolutely 
new;  he  only  uses  old  movements,  varying  them  it  is  true,  ia-number- 
less  ways,  but  really  adding  nothing  of  his  own  creation.  [Therefore 
the  exercise  of  voluntary  activity  requires  memory  of  involuntary  mus-  , 
cular  movements  previously  executed.  For  a  voluntary  movement  is 
one  which  is  pictured  beforehand  in  the  imagination,  or,  if  the  move- 
ment itself  be  not  thus  pictured,  the  end  of  the  movement,  at  least,  must 
be.  But  in  order  to  represent,  we  must  first  -present ;  or  in  other  words,  in 
order  to  imagine  a  movement,  either  in  process  or  in  product,  that  move- 
ment must  first  have  been  perceived;  and  this  means  that  the  child 
must  have  seen  it  performed  by  others,  and  felt  it  performed  by  him- 
self— involuntarily — before  he  could  perform  it  deliberately.  ,So  we 
find  that  deliberative  movements  are  gradually  acquired,  and  supervene 
upon  a  vast  number  of  impulsiye,  reflexive  and  instinctive  movements. 
For  example,  grasping  with  the  hand  is  at  the  beginning  a  pure  reflex, 
as  we  have  seen,  but  gradually,  after  many  repetitions,  this  move- 
ment is  remembered ;  actual  performance  of  the  movement  has  led  to  the 
formation  of  a  mental  image  of  it,  as  well  as  a  more  perfect  physiological 
adjustment  favoring  its  performance.  ,So  that  when  desire,  in  the  i 
proper  sense  of  the  word,  takes  phice,  attention  is  bestowed  upon  the 
object  sought  and  on  the  movement  involved,  and  the  action  is  deliber- 
ately performed.  So  we  see  that  a  strictly  deliberative  movement — an 
action — presupposes  desire,  attention  and  memory  images.  It  is  there- 
fore not  to  be  expected  that  we  shall  find  these  bona  fide  actions  in 
very  young  infants.  Preyer  found  no  movement  in  the  first  three 
months  which  could  be  announced  with  absolute  certainty  as  a  deliber- 
ative movement.  Tiedemann  saw  the  first  intended  holding  of  objects  in 
the  fourth  month.  "AnoEner  child,  at  six  months,  showed  a  great  deal 
of  persistent  effort.  "  He  would  over  and  over  again  seem  to  be  trying 
to  solve  the  problem  of  the  hinge  to  his  nursery  door,  patiently  and 
with  rivetted  attention  opening  and  shutting  the  door.  Day  after  day 
saw  him  at  his  self-appointed  task  "  (19).  A  boy  of  eleven  months,  in 
striking  a  spoon  against  another  object,  would  suddenly  change  it  to 
the  other  hand,  apparently  testing  whence  the  noise  proceeded.  When 
fourteen  months  old,  while  playing  with  a  tin  can,  he  put  the  cover  oa 
and  off  "  not  less  than  seventy-nine  times  without  stopping  a  moment, 
his  attention  meantime  strained  to  the  utmost  "  (  2).  Indeed  the  child's 
attention  seems  capable  of  surprising  prolongation  in  connection  with 
muscular  movement.  A  little  girl  of  nineteen  months  brought  out  her 
toy  blocks  to  show  me.  I  helped  her  to  build  houses  with  them.  De- 
lighted with  this  play,  she  showed  a  surprising  persistence ;  and  when 
I  grew  tired  and  wished  to  stop,  she  made  me  keep  on  longer  (F  ).  It 
is  by  means  of  this  incessant  activity  that  the  child  develops  both  men- 
tally and  physically. 

The  ability  to  inhibit  movements,  though  often  difficult  to  observe 
with  accuracy,  seems  to  me  one  of  the  most  certain  criteria  of  the  pres- 
ence of  will.    To  keep  himself  from  moving  is  surely  more  difficult 


\ 


62  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

than  to  move,  in  a  being  so  constitutionally  restless  as  the  average 
child.  Children  of  five  months  (u),  others  of  six  ( 6 ),  and  others  of  seven 
or  eight  months  (39),  have  been  observed  to  refrain  from  reaching  for  an 
object  that  was  much  beyond  their  reach.  The  little  boy  R.,  when 
threatened  with  punishment  for  continued  crying,  is  able  to  desist. 

The  development  of  desire  and  attention  has  perhaps  been  sufficiently 
indicated  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs.  Desire,  in  the  proper  sense  of 
the  word,  is  the  primary  stage  in  every  volition ;  and  no  volition  can 
take  place  without  attention.  The  child's  attention  (in  spite  of  some  of 
the  above  examples,  which  seem  to  point  the  other  way)  is  compara- 
tively weak  and  intermittent.  He  cannot  attend  to  the  unimpressive, 
the  stimulus  must  be  strong,  must  be  on  the  motor  side,  and  must  be 
frequently  renewed.  His  attention  is  very  easy  to  obtain,  but  very  hard 
to  retain.  This  double  fact  in  his  nature  renders  him  capable  of  educa- 
tion, but  at  the  same  time  makes  his  education  a  gradual  process,  which 
must  consist  largely  in  the  formation  of  right  habits  in  him  through 
imitation,  to  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he  is  so  excessively  prone.  M. 
Guyau  indeed  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  by  a  judicious  use  of  the  child's 
susceptibility  to  imitative  suggestion,  we  may  make  of  him  almost  what 
we  please.  And  this  seems  indeed  not  far  from  the  truth,  when  we 
consider  the  child's  wonderful  susceptibility  to  every  passive  impres- 
sion, and  his  no  less  wonderful  predisposition  to  reproduce  it  in  his  own 
untiring  activity. 


THE  LANGUAGE  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

Reprinted  from  the  American  Journal  of  Psychology,  Vol.  VI.  No.  1. 

The  profound  psychogenetic  significance  of  the  language  function, 
not  only  as  an  index  of  mind  development,  but  also  as  a  factor  in 
that  development,  justifies  its  treatment  in  a  separate  chapter. 
Such  separate  treatment  would  not  otherwise  be  justifiable,  inas- 
much as  language  does  not  constitute  a  new  psychic  phenomenon, 
or  class  of  phenomena,  differing  in  any  essential  respect  from  those 
already  treated.  It  rather  partakes  of  the  nature  of  them  all,  and 
constitutes  a  grand  product  of  their  conjoint  operation. 

|  In  order  to  the  employment  of  language  of  any  sort,1  there  must 
be,  in  the  first  place,  sensation.  If  sounds  are  to  be  intelligently 
uttered,  they  must  first  be  heard.  The  child  who  is  born  deaf,  and 
continues  in  that  condition,  does  not  learn  to  speak.  |  In  the  second 
place,  language  presupposes  perception  and  judgment.  The  sounds 
must  not  only  be  heard,  they  must  be  understood.  A  meaning 
must  be  attached  to  them.  Otherwise  they  will  never  be  given 
back  by  the  child  as  the  expression  of  his  thought;  i.  e.,  as  his 
language.  /In  the  third  place,  it  is  essential  to  any  advance  beyond 
the  merest  linguistic  rudiments,  that  abstraction  and  generalization 
take  place;  for  the  communication  of  thought,  in  its  highest  forms, 
cannot  take  place  until  there  has  been  attained  the  comprehension 
of  the  general  as  distinguished  from  the  particular,  and  of  the 
abstract  as  distinguished  from  the  concrete.'2  \Finally,  passing  from 
the  cognitive  to  the  volitional  aspect  of  mind,  it  is  obvious  that 
language,  in  its  most  essential  characteristic — i.  e.,  as  expression — 
belongs  to  the  will.  Every  expression  of  thought,  whether  it  be 
word  or  mark  or  gesture,  is  the  result  of  an  act  of  will,  and  as  such 
may  be  classed  among  movements. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  as  constituting  a  new  order  of  facts,  different 
from  thoughts  and  feelings  and  volitions,  but  rather  as  illustrating 
the  development  of  these,  and  entering  as  a  factor  in  that  develop- 
ment, that  language  receives  this  separate  place.  We  judge  of  the 
child's  mental  development  largely  by  the  rapidity  of  his  progress 
towards  a  skillful  manipulation  of  the  instruments  of  expression. 

'Although  our  chief  attention  is  occupied  here  with  the  spoken  word,  this  is  by  no 
means  the  only  form  of  language.  In  its  broadest  sense,  language  includes  every 
means  by  which  thought  is  communicated;  and  therefore  the  gestures  of  the  deaf- 
mute,  and  the  hieroglyphic  characters  on  Egyptian  monuments,  as  well  as  the  written 
manuscript  and  the  printed  page,  are  as  really  language  as  th°  most  eloquent  oral 
paragraphs,  because  they  are  the  expression  of  someone's  thought.  As  Broca  savs, 
language  is  "the  faculty  of  establishing  a  constant  relation  between  an  idea  and  a 
sign,"  whatever  that  sign  may  bi.  All  that  can  be  said,  therefore,  concerning  the 
psychological  importance  of  the  sooken  word,  applies  equally,  mutatis  mutandis,  to 
every  other  means  of  communication. 

20n  the  other  hand,  thought  itself  cannot  attain  to  any  great  degree  of  generality 
without  the  aid  of  Language.  Thought  and  language  are  mutually  helpful,  and  conduce 
each  to  the  development  of  the  other. 


64  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

I.— HEREDITY  VS.  EDUCATION  IN  LANGUAGE. 

There  is  no  psychological  problem  to  the  solution  of  which  a 
study  of  the  infant  mind  may  be  expected  to  contribute  more  largely 
than  this:  What  is  hereditary,  and  what  is  acquired,  in  the  sphere 
of  language  ?  Long  before  maturity  is  attained,  such  an  abundance 
of  acquired  material  has  been  added  to  our  original  store,  and 
through  constant  repetition,  the  two  have  become  so  transformed, 
modified  and  assimilated  in  character,  that  we  are  no  longer  able 
to  distinguish  the  one  from  the  other.  But  from  the  beginning  it 
was  not  so.  If  a  child  executes  a  gesture,  or  utters  a  sound,  at  an 
age  so  early  as  to  exclude  the  possibility  of  imitation  or  sponta- 
neous invention  on  his  part,  we  may  conclude  that  the  sound  or  the 
gesture — or,  at  least  the  disposition  to  express  himself  in  this 
manner — has  been  born  with  him.  Here  only,  then,  are  we  able  to 
apply  the  logical  method  of  difference  to  the  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem. 

It  is  obvious,  at  a  glance,  that  speech  is  a  product  of  the  conjoint 
operation  of  these  two  factors:  heredity  and  education.  If,  on  the 
one  hand,  we  observe  the  initial  babbling  of  the  infant,  and  notice 
its  marvelous  flexibility,  and  the  enormous  variety  of  its  intona- 
tions and  inflections—  and  this  at  an  age  so  early  as  to  preclude 
observation  and  imitation  of  others, — it  will  be  apparent  that  the 
child  has  come  into  the  world  already  possessing  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  equipment  by  which  he  shall  in  after  years  give 
expression  to  his  feelings  and  thoughts.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
carefully  observe  him  during  the  first  two  years  of  his  life,  and  note 
how  the  intonations,  and  afterwards  the  words,  of  those  by  whom 
he  is  surrounded,  are  given  back  by  him — at  first  unconsciously, 
but  afterwards  with  intention — and  how,  when  conscious  imitation 
has  once  set  in,  it  plays  thenceforth  the  preponderating  role, — we 
shall  readily  believe  that,  without  this  second  factor,  but  little 
progress  would  be  made  towards  speech- acquirement. 

It  may  be  well  to  consider  briefly  how  these  two  factors  enter  at 
every  point  in  the  development  of  language.  For  example,  in  order 
to  speak,  the  child  must  possess  first  of  all  a  sensory  and  motor 
physiological  apparatus.  This  physiological  apparatus,  including 
the  auditory  structure  for  the  reception  of  sounds,  the  inter- central 
and  centro- motor  cells  and  nerve  tracts  for  the  accomplishment  of 
connection  between  the  impression  and  the  expression,  and  the 
organs  of  vocal  utterance  (larynx,  palate,  tongue,  lips,  teeth),  is 
his  inheritance  from  the  past,  but  in  the  new-born  child  it  is 
all  imperfect,  both  in  structure  and  in  functioning ;  and  its 
development  requires  the  constant  moulding  influence  of  those 
educating  agencies  by  which  the  human  being  is  surrounded  from 
the  moment  of  his  entrance  into  the  world. 

Again,  the  disposition  to  utter  sounds  of  all  sorts,  and  to  express 
states  of  feeling  by  them,  is  undoubtedly  inherited,  since,  from  the 
very  beginning  of  life,  and  quite  independently  of  all  example,  the 
child  constantly  exercises  his  vocal  organs.1  But  in  spite  of  this, 
so  inadequate  is  heredity  alone,  that  the  child  will  not  learn  the 
language  of  his  parents,  unless  he  be  in  the  society  of  those  who 
employ  it.  If  brought,  up  among  savages,  he  will  speak  their 
language;  if  among  wolves,  he  will  howl.>  ,  J  . 
\  <    ' 

'"Le  Ian gage  est  en  nous  une  faculty  si  naturelle,  que  des  la  premiere  enfance, 
l'exercer  est  un  besoin  et  un  plalsir.1"— E<j<i<  r. 

'-"'It  is  found  that  vouiu?  birds  never  have  the  song  peculiar  t « *  their  species,  if  they 
have  not  heard  it;  whereas,  they  acquire  very  easily  the  song  of  almost  any  other  bird 
with  which  they  are  associated.'— Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  Natural  Selection. 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  65 

In  making  this  statement,  we  do  not  overlook  those  remarkable 
cases  in  which  children  have  invented  a  language  of  their  own, 
quite  different  from  that  spoken  around  them}  and  persisted  for 
some  time  in  using  the  former  and  entirely  ignoring  the  latter. 
Mr.  Horatio  Hale  gives  an  account  of  five  different  cases  in  which 
this  has  occurred,  two  in  the  United  States  and  three  in  Canada. 
In  one  case  this  invented  vocabulary  consisted  of  twenty- one  root- 
forms,  out  of  which,  by  combination  and  modification,  the  children 
developed  a  complete  language,  by  which,  with  the  aid  of  gesture, 
all  their  wants  could  be  communicated;  and  in  all  the  cases  the 
invented  language  was  sufficient  for  all  intercourse  as  between  the 
children  themselves;  and  was  persistently  used  until  the  children 
were  finally  broken  of  it,  by  being  separated  or  sent  to  school  (M  ). 
In  all  these  cases,  it  is  to  be  observed,  the  child  did  not  learn  the 
language  of  his  parents  in  the  absence  of  those  who  employed  it. 
It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  new  language  was  invented,  not  by 
one  child,  but  by  two.  Language  is  possible  in  all  normal  children; 
it  becomes  actual  only  in  the  presence  of  a  companion.  But  given 
the  companion,  and  scarcely  any  limit  can  be  set  to  the  possibilities 
of  development.  Indeed,  Mr.  Hale  has  given  us  a  theory  of 
language,  in  which  the  origin  of  linguistic  stocks  is  attributed  to 
the  inventiveness  of  children  who  have  become  separated  from 
their  tribe  when  very  young;  and  in  the  light  of  such  facts  as  those 
given  above,  the  theory  seems  highly  probable.  On  the  other  hand, 
that  the  child  shall  speak  any  specific  tongue  now  existing,  depends 
on  his  education.  He  does  not  inherit  any  particular  tongue  or 
dialect.  Some  think  he  will  acquire  his  mother-tongue  with  greater 
facility  than  any  other  (57 ),  yet  even  this  maybe  doubted.  "Speech, 
is  hereditary,  but  not  any  particular  form  of  speech"  ( 3).  There 
may  be  an  inherited  tendency  to  find  certain  sounds  difficult,  such 
as  sh  to  the  ancient  Ephraimite,  or  th  to  the  modern  Frenchman, 
but  this  is  only  a  tendency,  and  does  not  prevent  the  child  from 
learning  any  language  perfectly,  if  his  education  begins  early 
enough. 

Again,  the  careful  study  of  the  language  of  signs  makes  it  quite 
clear  that  many  gestures  are  inherited  (e.  </.,  holding  out  the 
hands  to  express  desire,  which  is  world-wide,  and  is  executed 
by  children  who  have  never  seen  it  done),  but  the  development 
of  gesture  into  anything  like  a  complicated  system  of  expression, 
is  quite  dependent  on  the  social  environment.  Of  course  this 
is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  language,  being  the  instrument 
for  the  communication  of  thought,  is  not  developed  in  the  absence 
of  beings  to  whom  thought  can  be  communicated. 

Thus,  then,  the  case  seems  to  stand  with  regard  to  the  respective 
spheres  of  heredity  and  education  in  the  production  of  language. 
As  regards  the  child's  present  endowment  and  capabilities  at  the 
moment  of  his  entrance  into  the  world,  "he  is  the  product,  the 
result  of  the  generations  which  have  preceded  him;  he  is  the  visible 
link  which  connects  the  past  with  the  future  "  (58);  but  with  regard 
to  that  which  he  is  to  be,  and  the  legacy  which  he  in  his  turn  shall 
transmit  to  those  who  shall  succeed  him,  he  is  very  largely  depend- 
ent on  his  physical  and  social  environment;  and  all  those  who 
compose  that  environment,  assist,  whether  they  will  or  no,  in  his 
education.1 


"'La  mere,  au  reste,  ou  la  nourrice,  ne  sont  ici  que  des  institutrices  en  chef;  car  tous 
eeux  qui  entourent  l'enfant  au  berceau  qui  convergent  en  sa  presence,  participent,  sane- 
s'en  douter,  acette  education  fondamentale"  (  99:82). 
5 


66  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF    CHILDHOOD, 

n.— THE   PHYSIOLOGICAL   DEVELOPMENT. 

If  the  question  were  asked,  "  Why  does  not  the  new-born  child 
talk?  "  two  answers  might  be  given.  In  the  first  place,  there  is  a 
psychological  reason,  viz.,  he  has,  as  yet,  no  ideas,  and  has,  there- 
fore, nothing  to  say  (27).  In  the  second  place,  there  is  a  physio- 
logical reason,  viz.,  his  speech-apparatus  is  as  yet  so  imperfectly 
developed  that  he  could  not  express  ideas  if  he  had  them. 

In  the  same  way,  if  the  question  were  asked,  Why  does  any 
person  ever  lose  the  power  of  speech  ?  similar  answers  might  be 
given.  He  either  loses  his  ideas,  through  some  mental  disorder,  or 
he  loses  the  power  of  expression  through  some  physiological  dis- 
order. The  two  cases  are,  moreover,  parallel  in  another  sense, 
inasmuch  as  the  acquirement  of  ideas  in  the  one  case,  and  their 
failure  in  the  other,  are  closely  associated  with,  if  not  indeed  quite 
dependent  upon,  the  presence  or  absence  of  the  physiological 
functions. 

The  physiological  reason,  then,  why  the  child  does  not  yet  speak, 
lies  in  the  undeveloped  state  of  the  speech-apparatus.  "  The  lungs 
are  not  yet  developed  in  a  degree  and  manner  sufficient  for  articu- 
late speech.  The  expiration  needs  to  be  strong,  and  exactly 
regulated.  Now,  in  the  infant,  the  pectoral  muscles  are  still 
developed  in  a  very  small  degree;  the  breathing  is  accomplished 
much  more  through  the  fall  of  the  diaphragm  than  through  the 
active  extension  of  the  pectoral  cavity.  Hence,  breathing  move- 
ments are  more  superficial  and  more  irregular  than  in  later  years. 
Artificial  speech  requires  complete  control  of  the  breathing 
mechanism;  which  the  child  has  not  yet  got.  To  his  speech-instru- 
ment is  still  wanting  a  large  number  of  strings,  whistles  and 
registers.  The  organs  of  speech  are  the  lungs,  air  tubes,  larynx 
and  vocal  cords,  the  mouth,  with  tongue,  palate,  lips  and  teeth. 
The  lungs  create  the  stream  of  air;  the  tone  and  voice  are  formed 
by  the  larynx;  according  as  the  vocal  cords  open  wider  or  come 
nearer,  arises  the  deeper  or  higher  tone.  The/o?v?i  of  the  tone  (t.  e., 
vowel  a  or  o,  etc.,  consonant  b  or  /,  etc.)  depends  on  the  form  of 
the  mouth  at  the  time.  Now  the  larynx  is  still  very  small  and 
undeveloped  in  its  form,  and  so  with  the  tongue,  the  lips,  and  the 
muscles  moving  them;  and  as  for  the  teeth,  they  are  still  entirely 
wanting"  (27).  The  undeveloped  condition  of  the  auditory  appara- 
tus, and  of  the  brain,  have  also  to  be  considered  in  this  connection. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  needs  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  relation 
between  the  organs  of  speech  and  speech  itself  is  a  reciprocal  one. 
If  speech  depends  on  the  organs,  it  is  also  true  that  the  organs 
depend  on  speech,  and  are  not  developed,  except  by  exercise.  As 
one  learns  to  play  on  the  harp  by  playing  on  the  harp,  so  the  child 
learns  to  speak  by  speaking.  The  exercise  of  the  vocal  organs 
develops  those  organs,  so  that  they  become  capable  of  higher 
exercise. 

The  lungs  first  appear,  early  in  the  embryonic  stage,  as  a  single 
median  diverticulum  from  the  ventral  wall  of  the  oesophagus,  which 
soon  becomes  dilated  towards  the  two  sides  in  the  form  of  primi- 
tive protrusions  or  tubercules,  while  the  root,  communicating  with 
the  oesophagus,  remains  single.  The  foetal  lungs  contain  no  air, 
and  lie,  packed  in  a  comparatively  small  compass,  at  the  back  or 
the  thorax.  They  undergo  very  rapid  and  remarkable  changes 
afterbirth,  in  consequence  of  the  commencement  of  respiration. 
They  expand  so  as  to  completely  cover  the  pleural  portions  of  the 
pericardium,  their  margins  become  more  obtuse,  and  their  whole 
form  less  compressed.      The   entrance  of   the   air  changes   their 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  67 

texture  so  that  it  becomes  more  loose,  light  and  spongy,  and  less 
granular;  while  the  great  quantity  of  blood,  which,  from  this  time 
on,  circulates  through  them,  greatly  increases  their  weight,  and 
changes  their  color.  The  proportion  of  their  weight  to  that  of  the 
body  becomes  nearly  twice  as  great  as  before,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  their  specific  gravity,  after  the  beginning  of  respiration,  be- 
comes very  much  less  (  S:m  ). 

The  trachea,  or  windpipe,  which  connects  the  lungs  with  the 
larynx,  is  in  the  embryo  almost  closed,  its  anterior  and  posterior 
walls  being  very  near  each  other.  The  small  space  remaining  is 
filled  with  mucus.  With  the  exercise  of  respiration,  the  mucus  is 
expelled,  and  the  tube  itself  gradually  becomes  more  distended, 
but  its  anterior  wall  does  not  for  some  time  become  convex.  With 
the  growth  of  the  child,  the  cartilages  which  form  the  "  ribs  "  of 
the  trachea,  become  stronger  and  better  able  to  bear  their  part  in 
the  forcible  expiration  of  air  which  is  required  for  speech  (  8:508  ). 

The  larynx,  which  is  the  organ  most  directly  concerned  in  the 
production  of  "  voice  "  or  "  tone,"  is  an  exceedingly  complicated 
mechanism,  consisting  of  a  framework  of  cartilages  comprising  no 
less  than  nine  distinct  parts,  connected  by  elastic  membranes  or 
ligaments,  two  of  which,  from  their  specially  prominent  position, 
are  named  the  true  vocal  cords.  In  speaking  and  singing,  these 
cartilages  are  moved  relatively  to  one  another  by  the  laryngeal 
muscles.  The  larynx  is  situated  at  the  upper  end  of  the  trachea, 
the  mucus  lining  of  the  two  organs  being  continuous.  At  the  time 
of  birth,  this  organ  is  very  small  and  narrow,  and  continues  com- 
paratively insignificant  up  to  the  period  of  adolescence,  when  rapid 
and  remarkable  changes  take  place,  especially  in  the  case  of  the 
male,  where  it  becomes  much  more  prominent,  and  the  pomum 
adami  protrudes  so  to  be  perceptible  at  the  throat  (  8:522  ). 

The  tongue  is  composed  very  largely  of  muscular  fibres,  running 
in  various  directions,  such  as  the  superior  and  inferior  lingual 
muscles,  which  move  the  organ  up  and  down,  and  the  transverse 
fibres,  by  which  it  is  moved  from  side  to  side.  Besides  these,  we 
have  the  various  glossal  muscles,  which,  though  extrinsic  to  the 
tongue  itself,  yet  are  implicated  in  its  operations.  These  muscles 
are  all  more  or  less  flabby  in  the  foetus  and  the  new-born,  and 
become  strong  only  by  nutrition  and  exercise.  A  similar  remark 
applies  to  the  lips;  while  the  teeth,  without  which  the  dental  and 
labio-dental  consonants  can  never  be  properly  pronounced,  are  at 
the  beginning  of  life  entirely  absent,  though  the  first  steps  toward 
their  formation  take  place  as  early  as  the  seventh  week  of  the 
period  of  gestation  (  8: 555  ). 

The  brain  of  the  foetus  is  comparatively  deficient  in  convolutions, 
and  presents  a  smooth,  even  appearance.  The  first  of  the  primary 
fissures  to  appear  is  the  fissure  of  Sylvius,  which  is  visible  during 
the  third  month.  The  other  primitive  sulci  also  begin  to  appear 
about  this  time,  and  by  the  end  of  the  fifth  month  are  well  estab- 
lished. The  secondary  sulci  make  their  appearance  from  the  fifth 
or  sixth  month  on.  The  first  of  these  to  be  seen  is  the  fissure  of 
Rolando.  "  By  the  end  of  the  seventh  month,  nearly  all  the  chief 
features  of  the  cerebral  convolutions  and  sulci  have  appeared. 
The  last  fissures  to  appear  are  the  inferior  occipito- temporal,  and  a 
small  furrow  crossing  the  end  of  the  calloso- marginal "  ( 8:836  ).  But 
long  after  the  extra-uterine  life  begins,  the  child-brain  is  still 
deficient  in  many  of  the  higher  processes,  the  association  fibres 
being  the  last  to  develop.  The  convolutions  are  for  a  long  time 
comparatively   simple,    and   their   increasing   complexity  as  life 


68  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

advances  stands  to  the  exercise  of  the  various  faculties,  partly  in 
the  relation  of  antecedent,  and  partly  in  that  of  consequent. 

Speech,  then,  in  the  little  child  is  a  potentiality,  though  not  an 
actuality.  He  is,  as  it  were,  in  possession  of  the  machine,  but  the 
belts  have  not  yet  been  adjusted  to  the  pulleys,  nor  has  he  yet 
learned  to  handle  the  instrument.  The  inability  to  speak  is  not, 
therefore,  an  abnormal  state  at  the  beginning  of  life,  any  more  than 
the  inability  to  write  or  swim  or  play  the  piano  (8: 38).  It  is  merely 
an  imperfect  state.  But  the  inability  to  learn  to  speak  is  abnormal, 
and  its  cause  must  be  sought,  not  in  immaturity,  but  in  abnor- 
mality, of  the  physiological  or  psychological  structures  and 
processes  involved.  The  one  is  an  unnatural  condition,  into  which 
the  child  has  fallen;  the  other  a  natural  condition,  out  of  which  he 
will  gradually  rise. 

III. — PHONETIC   AND   PSYCHIC   DEVELOPMENT. 

We  shall  here,  first  of  all,  give  a  sort  of  outline  history  of  the 
speech-progress  of  the  average  child  during  the  first  two  years, 
generalizing  from  a  large  number  of  actual  observations  (made  by 
different  persons  on  different  children)  and  proceeding  by  periods 
of  six  months  each;  then  we  shall  give  summarized  statements  of 
a  number  of  child-vocabularies  that  have  been  carefully  compiled 
at  different  ages;  and  finally,  we  shall  examine  what  general  con- 
clusions may  be  drawn  from  the  material  at  hand,  and  set  down  as 
empirical  laws,  awaiting  further  substantiation.  I  say  "  empirical 
laws,"  because  children  differ  so  much  from  each  other,  and  reliable 
observations  are  so  comparatively  scanty  that,  for  the  present, 
general  statements  must  be  held  in  abeyance,  or  made  only  tenta- 
tively. 

First  Six  Months. — "In  Thuringia,"  says  Sigismund,  "they  call  the 
first  three  months  '  das  dumme  Vierteljahr,'  "  and  during  the  second 
three  months,  according  to  Schultze,  no  advance  is  made  on  the  first. 
It  might  seem,  then2  that  in  this  first  half-year  there  is  nothing 
worthy  of  our  attention  in  the  matter  of  language.  This,  however, 
is  very  far  from  being  the  case,  for  in  this  period  a  most  important 
apprenticeship  is  going  on.  Whe  little  child,  even  in  the  cradle, 
and  before  he  is  able  to  raise  himself  to  a  sitting  posture,  is  receiv- 
ing impression  every  waking  moment  from  the  environment;  is 
hearing  the  words,  seeing  the  gestures,  and  noting — in  a  manner 
perhaps  not  purely  involuntary — the  intonations  of  those  around 
him;  and  out  of  this  material,  he  afterwards  builds  up  his  own 
vocabulary.  jNot  only  so,  but  during  this  period,  that  peculiarly 
charming  infantile  babble  (which  Ploss  calls  "  das  Lallen  ")  begins, 
which,  though  only  an  "awkward  twittering"  (  6),  yet  contains  in 
rudimentary  form  nearly  all  the  sounds  which  afterwards,  by 
combination,  yield  the  potent  instrument  of  speech.  A  wonderful 
variety  of  sounds,  some  of  which  afterwards  give  the  child  difficulty 
when  he  tries  to  produce  them,  are  now  produced  automatically,  by 
a  purely  impulsive  exercise  of  the  vocal  muscles;  in  the  same  way  as 
the  child  at  this  age  performs  automatically  many  eye-movements, 
which  afterwards  become  difficult,  or  even  impossible  (4U).  M. 
Taine  thinks  that  "  all  shades  of  emotion,  wonder,  joy,  willfulness 
and  sadness  "  are  at  this  time  expressed  by  differences  of  tone, 
equaling  or  even  surpassing  the  adult  ( 87 ). 
iThe  child's  first  act  is  to  cry.1     This  cry  has  been  variously  inter- 

»"Sobald  das  Kind  zur  Welt  ureboren  ist.  fun^t  e,8  an  gellend  zu  schreieu"  ( 1  ).  "The 
child  in  born  into  the  world!    He  enters  it  struKgliiiK;  a  scream  is  his  tlrst  utterance" 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  69 

preted.  Semmig  calls  it  "  the  triumphant  song  of  everlasting  life," 
and  describes  it  as  "heavenly  music"  (himmlische  Musik);  Kant 
said  it  was  a  cry  of  wrath,  and  others  have  spoken  of  it  as  a 
sorrowful  wail  on  entering  this  world  of  sin;  or  as  a  foreboding  of 
the  pains  and  sorrows  of  life.  It  seems  more  scientific,  though  less 
poetic,  to  accept  the  explanation  of  the  "unembarrassed  naturalist," 
who  sees  in  it  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  expression  of  the 
painfulness  of  the  first  breathing — the  rush  of  cold  air  upon  the 
lungs  ( 1  ). 

A  more  important  point  is  the  relation  of  this  first  vocal  utter- 
ance to  the  speech  that  is  to  follow.  jThe  cry  at  first  is  merely  an 
automatic  or  reflex  "squall,"  without  expressive  modulation  or 
distinctive  timbre;  the  same  cry  serves  to  express  all  sorts  of  feel- 
ings. iBut  very  soon  it  becomes  differentiated  and  assumes  various 
shadings  to  express  various  mental  states.  This  differentiation 
begins  at  different  times  in  different  children.  A  girl  only  fifteen 
days  old  expressed  her  desire  to  be  fed  by  a  particular  sort  of  cry 
(6  ).  In  another  case,  the  cry  had  ceased  to  be  a  mere  squall  by 
the  end  of  the  first  month  (  1  ).  In  another,  the  feelings  of  hunger, 
cold,  pain,  joy  and  desire  were  expressed  by  different  sounds 
before  the  end' of  the  fifth  week  (  ^  ).  Others  report  the  transition 
from  the  "  cry  "  to  the  "  voice  "  (  m  ),  involving  cooperation  of  the 
mouth  and  tongue,  at  different  times,  but  all  within  the  first  three 
months  (  u  ). 

These  cries  are  variously  described.  According  to  one,  "  the  cry 
of  pain  is  generally  longer  continued  than  the  cry  of  fear"  (°°). 
Another  speaks  of  the  cry  of  fear  as  "  short  and  explosive,"  while 
hunger  is  expressed  by  a  long  drawn  out  wail  (M).  Another  child 
at  two  months  expressed  pleasure  and  pain  by  different  forms  of 
the  vowel  a.  Sigismund's  boy,  in  his  sixth  month,  expressed 
pleasure  by  a  peculiar  crowing  shout,  accompanied  by  kicking  and 
prancing. 

iThe  next  step  is  taken  when  these  cries  and  babblings  assume  an 
ticulate  character.  >The  alphabetic  sounds  begin  to  be  heard. 
\Of  these,  the  vowels  usually  precede  the  consonants;  and  of  the 
vowels,  a  with  its  various  shadings  is  generally  the  first  to  appear. l 
In  one  case  the  following  series  was  developed:  d-a-u  (27).  In 
another,  the  sound  of  a-a,  as  an  expression  of  joy,  was  heard  in 
the  tenth  week  (  3  ).  According  to  Lobische,  the  vowels  developed 
in  this  order:  a-e-o-u-i  (C1).  One  child  began  with  a,  and  then 
proceeded  to  ai-a-au-a,  while  the  pure  sound  of  6  was  late  in 
appearing.  In  another  case  all  the  vowels  were  heard  in  the  first 
five  months,  a  being  the  most  frequently  employed;  and  in  another, 
the  primitive  a  (of  which  the  child's  first  cries  largely  consisted) 
became   differentiated   into  the  various  vowel-sounds  during  the 

'It  is  nee^ss-i.ry  at  this  pn'nr to  adoDt  a  svstem  of  diacritical  marks,  a^  in  all  that 
follows  th"  child's  pronunciation  is  of  great  importance.  We  shall,  therefore,  adopt 
the  following  systt-m.  anu  shall  take  the  liberty  of  changiag,  wherever  necessary,  the 
spelling  of  The  recorded  observations,  for  the  sake  of  uniformity: 

a  as  in  calm.-  e  or  ee  as  in  eat,  feet,  etc.  oo  as  in  food. 

a  as  in  fat,  ■  i  as  in  pit.  do  as  iu  foot. 

a  as  in  fate.'  I  as  in  ice.  u  as  in  up. 

d  as  in  aiolr  o  as  in  pot.  %i  as  in  use. 

a,  (German  a  umlaut).  g  as  in  o?&'.  u  (German  u  umlaut). 

e  as  in  pet.,  6  (German  o  umlaut). 

Some  changes  will  also  be  made  in  the  use  of  the  consonants.  For  example,  such 
words  as  corner,  chorus,  coffee,  etc.,  will  be  spelled  with  a  k;  woids  like  ciqar,  center, 
cellar,  etc  .  with  an  s:  and  in  su"h  wor'is  as  ■'trite  the  silent  to  will  be  omrted.  Other 
changes  will  be  indicated  as  they  are  made 


70  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

first  month  (19).  Preyer  reports  the  use  of  the  vowel-sounds  in 
the  following  order  :  ua-ao-ai-uao-a  o  a-a  a  a-o  a  S-u-e-d-i-u;  and 
Sigismund  in  the  following:  a-a-u-ei-o-i-o-ii-du-au. 
i  Long  before  the  sixth  month,  the  primitive  vowels  are  combined 
with  one  another  (as  we  see)  and  with  consonants,  to  produce  the 
the  first  syllabic  utterances.  |  These  first  syllables  are,  for  the  most 
part,  mechanical.  In  a  great  many  of  the  cases  under  consid- 
eration, the  first  consonants  to  make  their  appearance  are  the 
labials,  b-p-m,  and  these  are  almost  always  initial  at  first,  and  not 
final.  The  easy  consonant  m,  combined  in  this  way  with  the  easy 
vowel  a,  yields  the  familiar  combination  ma,  which,  by  spontaneous 
reduplication,  becomes  mama.  In  a  similar  manner,  papa,  baba 
(afterwards  baby)  and  the  like,  are  constructed.  The  labials  are 
not  always,  however,  thefirst  consonantal  sounds  uttered.  Some- 
times the  gutturals  (g  orfe}  precede  them;  and  the  two  consonants 
which  are  usually  the  last  to  appear  (viz.,  r  and  I)  are  used  by 
some  children  quite  early.  In  the  case  of  the  boy  A.,  the  first 
sounds  were  guttural,  gg,  though  the  earliest  combination  was 
mam-mam,  used  in  crying.  At  five  months  "  he  dropped  the 
throat- sounds  almost  entirely,  and  began  the  shrill  enunciation  of 
vowels;"  and  at  six  months  he  lowered  his  voice  and  began  to  use 
lip-sounds,  simultaneously  with  the  cutting  of  his  first  teeth.  In 
another  case,  m  appeared  as  the  first  consonant  in  the  second 
month  and  was  followed  by  b-d-n-r,  occasionally  g  and  h,  and  very 
rarely  k;  the  first  syllables  were  pa-ma-ta-na  (88).  Lobische 
observed  the  consonants  in  this  order  :  m-(w)-b-p-d-t-l-n-s-r-; 
Sigismund  in  this  :  b-m-n-d-s-g-w-f-ch-k-l-r-sch;  and  Dr.  Brown 
in  this  :  b-p-f-r-m-g-k-h-t-d-l-n  (19).  Un  some  cases  nearly  all 
syllables  have  been  correctly  pronounced  during  the  first  half-year 
( 3  ) ;  while  in  others  progress  is  much  slower,  very  few  syllables 
being  certainly  mastered  before  the  ninth  month  ( 62  ). 

lWe  may  sometimes  observe  here  also  the  beginnings  of  vocal 
imitation.  The  boy  A.  was  observed  to  "watch  attentively  the 
lip-movements  of  his  attendants;"  and  other  observers  have 
remarked,  from  about  the  fourth  month,  "  a  curious  mimicry  of 
conversation,  imitating  especially  the  cadences,  so  that  persons  in 
the  adjoining  room  would  think  conversation  was  going  on"  ( s  ). 
The  same  thing  was  observed  in  A.  a  little  later. 

Second  Six  Months. — Most  children  make  a  very  marked  advance 
during  this  period  in  the  imitation  of  sounds,  in  the  intentional  use 
of  sounds  with  a  meaning,  and  in  the  comprehension  of  the  mean- 
ings of  words  and  gestures.  The  actual  vocabulary  of  most  children 
at  this  age  is,  however,  exceedingly  small.  ]Many  children,  a  year 
old,  cannot  speak  a  single  word,  while  the  average  vocabulary  does 
not  probably  exceed  half  a  dozen  words. 

A  new  advance  accompanies  the  rise  of  active  hearing,  and  the 
increasing  power  of  attention  in  the  third  three  months.!  The  child 
begins  to  keep  a  sort  of  time  to  music,  in  which  he  shows  pleasure, 
and  this  strong  excitement  stimulates  the  production  of  new  sounds 
( 27  ).  I  He  delights  in  being  carried  about  with  a  galloping  rhythmic 
motion,  and  will  smack  his  lips  and  make  other  sounds  in  imitation 
of  chirping  to  a  horse  (M).  He  pats  his  hands  together  in  imita- 
tion of  the  accompanying  motions  in  a  nursery  rhyme,  and  some- 
times makes  an  attempt  to  say  the  words  also.  He  shows  a  fondness 
for  ringing  the  changes  on  certain  syllables  which  he  has  learned, 
varying  and  reduplicating  :  e.  </.,  mama,  baba,  gaga,  nana,  etc.,  and 

ther  less  intelligible  combinations. 
He  understands  many  words  which  he  cannot  pronounce,  and  he 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  71 

pronounces  some  in  a  mechanical  way  without  understanding. 
He  knows  each  member  of  the  household  by  name,  and  will  reach 
a  biscuit  to  the  person  named  to  him.  He  knows  the  principal 
parts  of  his  own  body,  and  will  point  to  them  when  asked  (M)  (  8  ). 
The  words  papa  and  mama,  whose  surprising  universality  may  be 
partly  accounted  for  by  the  physiological  law  of  ease  (the  sound 
most  easily  produced  and,  therefore,  earliest  used,  being  naturally 
associated  with  those  persons  whose  presence  arouses  the  earliest 
and  most  vivid  emotions  and  ideas),  are  by  many  children  at  this 
time  intelligently  used,  though  some  are  later  in  this. 

Imitation  usually  makes  rapid  strides  in  this  period.  In  one  case 
gestures  were  imitated  at  eight  months,  and  words  at  nine.  If 
someone  is  being  called,  the  child  also  calls  loudly.  In  another 
case,  towards  the  end  of  the  child's  first  year,  he  began  to  imitate 
the  sounds  made  by  animals  and  inanimate  objects  (  3  ).  Sigismund 
observed  the  instinct  of  imitation  showing  itself  in  the  third  quarter 
of  the  first  year;  the  reduplication  of  syllables  composed  of  a  labial 
or  dental  consonant  and  the  vowel  a;  and  the  more  frequent 
occurrence  of  syllables  in  which  the  vowel  is  initial.  Champney's 
child  distinctly  imitated  the  intonation  of  the  voice  when  any  word 
or  sentence  was  repeated  to  him  several  times.  This  has  been 
observed  also  in  other  cases  (m). 

Children  who  are  able  to  use  a  few  words  at  this  age,  show  by 
their  use  of  them  how  inadequately  defined  is  their  meaning.  A 
little  girl,  who  had  learned  to  say  6  ga  (all  gone)  and  ga  gd 
(gegangen),  applied  the  latter  term  to  herself  when  falling  down 
(M).  Humphreys  says  the  child  he  observed  was  able,  at  this  time, 
to  name  many  things  correctly,  and  to  pronounce  all  initial  conso- 
nants distinctly,  except  th-t-d-v  and  I,  Some  final  consonants  were 
indistinct.  Another  child,  at  eleven  months,  knew  what  guten  tag 
meant,  and  responded  with  tata;  he  also  answered  adieu  with  adaa. 
In  this  case,  the  first  association  of  a  sound  with  a  concept  was  ee, 
which  meant  wet  ( s ).  A  boy  of  ten  months  used  intelligently  the 
words  mama,  Aggie  (Maggie,  this  afterwards  became  Waggie)  and 
addie  (auntie).  At  eleven  months,  Waggie  was  shortened  to  Wag,  and 
addie  to  att  (A).  Another  at  seven  months  used  to  wave  his  hand 
and  say  tata  at  parting;  and  one  day  he  did  this  when  a  closet  door 
was  opened  and  shut  again  (6S).  Taine's  little  girl  at  twelve 
months,  on  learning  the  word  bebe,  as  connected  with  the  picture 
of  the  infant  Jesus,  afterwards  extended  it,  curiously  enough,  not 
to  all  babies,  but  to  all  pictures.  Occasionally  a  word  is  invented, 
such  as  the  word  mum,  reported  by  Mr.  Darwin,  which  the  child 
used  with  an  interrogatory  sound  when  asking  for  food,  but  also 
"  as  a  substantive  of  wide  signification."  I  observed  a  similar 
general  use  of  da,  in  the  case  of  F.  In  another  case,  the  word  bo 
was  used  to  signify  anything  that  pleased  the  child.  The  words 
mama,  papa  and  babe,  which  had  been  used  for  some  time  mechanic- 
ally, were  dropped  about  the  middle  of  this  period,  to  be  resumed 
five  months  later,  "  when  they  were  applied  to  their  proper 
objects"  (19).  Sully  observed  in  the  beginning  of  this  period 
(which  he  calls  the  la  la  period)  the  rise  of  spontaneous  articula- 
tion. Combinations  of  syllables  were  suddenly  hit  upon,  and 
repeated  without  any  meaning,  except  as  indications  of  baby  feeling. 
Long  a  indicated  surprise,  and  "  a  kind  of  o,  formed  by  sucking  in 
the  breath,  indicated  pleasure  at  some  new  object"  (M).  In  one 
case,  a  little  sentence — which  really  consisted  of  two  words — was 

uttered  by  a  child  at  the  close  of  this  period.      He  said:  "  Papa 

mama,"  which  meant:   "  Papa,  take  me  to  mama  "  (  6:261 ). 


72  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

The  wide  differences  among  children  make  it  unsafe  to  venture 
any  generalizations,  exceptone,  viz.ithis  second  half-year  seems  to 
be  par  excellence  the  period  of  the  rise  of  imitation.  Some  children, 
however,  are  as  far  advanced  at  the  beginning  of  this  period  as 
others  are  at  its  end.  Perhaps  it  ought  also  to  be  remarked  that 
the  child  who  shows  a  great  precocity  in  imitation,  or  in  learning 
to  speak,  will  not  necessarily,  on  that  account,  turn  out  a  more 
intelligent  child.  Imitation  does  not  require  a  very  high  degree  of 
mental  acuteness,  and  the  child  who  has  been  slow  in  this  may 
in  the  end  surpass  his  more  precocious  companion. 

Third  Six  Months.— jWhile  the  child  is  learning  to  walk,  there  is 
very  often  a  standstill,  or  even  a  retrograde  movement  in  the 
matter  of  speech.  \After  walking  is  mastered,  the  acquisition  of 
language  goes  forward  again  with  greater  facility  than  ever. 

touring  this  third  period,  marked  progress  is  usually  made  in  the 
understanding  of  words,  and  in  their  intelligent  application,  though 
the  vocabulary  is  still  very  limited,  and  the  pronunciation  imper- 
fect. Difficult  sounds  are  omitted,  or  replaced  by  easier  ones. 
Sometimes  the  change  in  one  consonant  has  an  influence  on 
another  which  precedes  or  follows  it.  In  longer  words  and  combi- 
nations, only  the  prominent  part — the  accented  syllable,  or  the 
final  sound— is  reproduced.  A  final  ie  is  often  added  to  words. 
The  child  says  dinnie  for  dinner,  ninnie  for  drink,  and  beddy  for 
bread.  Other  imperfect  pronunciations  are  :  apy  tee  (apple  tree), 
piccy  book  (picture  book),  gamy  or  nannie  (grandma),  pee  (please), 
pepe  (pencil),  mo-a  (more),  ho  or  ha  (horse),  Balbert  (Gilbert),  Tot 
(Topf),  Ka-ka  (Carrie),  and  Kakie  (Katy). 

Most  children  at  this  age  understand  a  great  deal  of  what  is  said 
to  them.  Such  phrases  as  "bring  the  ball;"  "come  on  papa's 
knee;"  "go  down;"  "come  here;"  "give  me  a  kiss,"  are  perfectly 
understood  and  obeyed.  Parts  of  the  child's  body,  as  eyes,  nose, 
ear,  other  ear,  hand,  etc.,  other  person's  eyes,  ears,  etc.,  are  pointed 
to  when  named.  Articles  are  fetched,  carried  and  put  where  one 
commands  (A),  (F),  (W). 

VSome  children  begin,  towards  the  end  of  this  period,  to  express 
themselves  in  short  sentences,  which  are  usually  elliptical,  or,  as 
Romanes  says,  "sentence-words,"  only  the  most  prominent  word 
or  words  in  the  sentence  being  pronounced.  E.  g.,  ta  (thank  you), 
nee  (take  me  on  your  knee)  C26);  det  off;  detup;  where  cows  George? 
(where  are  Uncle  George's  cows  ?)  (  M  );  mo-a,  mama  (give  me  more, 
mama);  dao  (take  me  down  from  my  chair)  (  '•*  ).  Many  combinations 
of  words  are  made,  which  fall  short  of  the  dignity  of  sentences. 
E.  g.,  mama  dess,  ding-a-ling,  etc.  A  boy  of  eighteen  months 
"  knows  the  last  words  of  many  of  Mother  Goose  melodies,  as 
moon  O;  place  O;  bare,  bare,  bare;  putting  them  in  at  the  right 
time,  enthusiastically  "  C*). 

Some  words  are  invented  by  the  child.  E.  g.,  the  word  tern,  which 
Taine's  little  girl  spontaneously  used  as  a  sort  of  general  demon- 
strative, "  a  sympathetic  articulation,  that  she  herself  has  found  in 
harmony  with  all  fixed  and  distinct  intention,  and  which  conse- 
quently is  associated  with  her  principal  fixed  and  distinct  intentions, 
which  at  present  are  desires  to  take,  to  have,  to  make  others  take, 
to  look,  to  make  others  look  "  (S7).  The  same  child  invented  the 
word  ham  to  signify  "something  to  eat,"  just  as  Darwin's  boy  used 
mum  for  the  same  purpose. 

The  love  of  reduplication  shows  itself  very  distinctly  now,  as 
indeed  it  has  almost  from  the  beginning;  no  doubt  for  the  physio- 
logical reason  that  it  is  easier  for  the  vocal  organs  to  execute  a 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  73 

movement  over  again,  to  which  they  are  adjusted,  and  which  they 
have  performed  once,  than  to  adjust  themselves  to  a  new  move- 
ment. Very  probably  the  love  of  repetition  and  "jingle"  which  is  so 
noticeable  in  children  (and  which,  as  Sigismund  says,  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  rhyme),  also  enters  as  a  factor  here.  Numerous 
examples  of  the  onomatopoetic  naming  of  animals  and  things  may 
also  be  observed  at  this  time,  though  many  of  these  are,  no  doubt, 
imitated  from  grown-up  people.  One  or  both  of  these  tendencies 
may  be  observed  in  such  expressions  as  the  following :  dada, 
mama,  papa,  wawa  (water),  wah  wah  or  oua  oua  or  bow  wow  (dog), 
es  es  (yes),  nl  nl  (nice),  ko  ko  (chicken),  puff  (wind),  quack  quack 
(duck),  golloh  or  lululu  (all  rolling  objects),  bopoo  (bottle),  too  too 
(cars),  tuppa  tuppa  tee  (potato),  etc.  The  child  imitates  (often 
spontaneously)  the  sounds  made  by  the  dog,  cat,  sheep,  ticking  of 
clock,  etc.,  while  many  sounds  are  reduplicated.  The  opposite 
process,  a  spontaneous  curtailing  of  certain  words,  may  be  some- 
times noticed.  In  one  case  a  boy  of  fifteen  months  contracted 
papa,  mama  and  addie  into  pa,  ma  and  att  respectively,  having 
never  heard  any  of  these  latter  words  (A). 
H  \Imitation  is  now  very  strong.  The  child  attempts  to  repeat 
everything  he  hears;  but  some  sounds  give  him  difficulty,  and  the 
shifts  to  which  he  resorts  in  such  cases  are  of  very  great  interest. 
The  boy  R.  used  to  say  nana  for  thank  you,  and  dit  taut  for  get  caught 
(in  play);  but  the  phrase  excuse  me  was  too  much  for  him;  he 
therefore  used  oho  in  its  place,  with  a  rising  inflection  on  the  second 
syllable.  Singing  is  often  imitated  better  than  speech.  A  boy  of 
fourteen  months  "  gave  back  a  little  song,  in  the  right  key"  (1:12°); 
and  another,  in  the  sixteenth  month,  knew  some  simple  little 
hymns  ( 16 ). 

But  perhaps  the  most  interesting  thing  of  all  at  this  time  is  the 
gradual  "  clearing  "  of  "the  childish"  concepts,  as  indicated  by  the 
steady  circumscription  of  the  application  of  names.  Even  yet, 
however,  names  are  applied  much  too  widely;  much  more 
experience  is  necessary  before  they  acquire,  in  the  young  mind,  a 
clear  and  definite  connotation.  (  Even  in  mature  life,  most  of  our 
concepts  are  still  very  hazy  and  ill-defined;  and  it  might  be  allow- 
able to  describe  the  whole  process  of  intellectual  education  as  a 
process  of  the  clarification  of  the  concept.)  It  is  interesting,  also, 
to  note  how  the  principle  of  association  enters  as  a  factor  in  the 
determination  of  the  application  of  the  name.  When  a  child  calls 
the  moon  a  lamp,  or  applies  his  word  bo  (ball)  to  oranges,  bubbles, 
and  other  round  objects;  calls  everything  bow  wow  which  bears  any 
sort  of  resemblance  to  a  dog  (  M)  (includingthe  bronze  dogs  on  the 
staircase,  and  the  goat  in  the  yard)  (37);  applies  his  words  papa 
and  mama  to  all  men  and  all  women  respectively;  makes  his  word 
cutie  do  duty,  not  only  for  knife,  but  also  for  scissors,  shears,  sickle, 
etc.  (66);  says  bd  (bath)  on  seeing  a  crust  dipped  in  tea  (M); 
applies  ati  (assis)  to  chair,  footstool,  bench,  sitting  down,  sit  down, 
etc.  (36);  peudu  (perdu)  or  atta  (gone  or  lost)  to  all  sorts  of  dis- 
appearances;— it  is  evident  that  one  great  striking  resemblance  has 
overshadowed  all  differences  in  the  objects.  Another  child,  who 
had  learned  the  word  ot  as  a  name  for  objects  that  were  too  warm, 
extended  it  to  include,  also,  objects  that  were  too  cold  (association 
by  contrast).  Later,  on  looking  at  a  picture,  he  pointed  to  the 
representation  of  clouds  and  said  ot.  The  clouds  reminded  him, 
no  doubt,  of  the  steam  from  the  tea-kettle  (  64).  This  aptitude  for 
seizing  analogies,  which  Taine  believes  to  be  the  source  of  general 
ideas  and  of  language,  has  numerous  illustrations,  not  only  in  the 


74  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

language  of  the  child  just  learning  to  speak,  but  also  in  the  use  of 
words  by  uncivilized  or  semi-civilized  peoples.1 

Fourth  Six  Months. — During  the  latter  half  of  the  second  year 
linguistic  progress  is  usually  so  rapid  as  to  render  a  detailed 
account  impossible.  We  can  only  call  attention,  with  examples,  to 
some  of  the  most  striking  features. 

'/By  the  end  of  the  second  year,"  says  Schultze,  "the  normal 
child  can  make  himself  understood  in  a  short  sentence."  His  own 
child  was  able,  at  nineteen  months,  to  use  sentences  containing 
subject,  predicate  and  object.  In  another  case,  quite  a  complicated 
sentence  (but  very  elliptical,  only  the  nouns  being  uttered),  was 
heard  in  the  twentieth  month  (  :147).  In  the  case  of  A.,  a  genuine 
sorrow  was  the  occasion  of  his  first  sentence.  His  father,  of  whom 
he  was  very  fond,  had  been  playing  with  him  for  some  time,  and 
finally,  being  called  away,  put  him  down  and  went  out,  closing  the 
door  behind  him.  The  child  gazed  for  a  moment  at  the  closed 
door,  and  then,  throwing  himself  on  the  floor,  cried  out,  I  want  my 
papa.  Before  this,  he  used  to  express  himself  chiefly  in  elliptical 
sentences  and  sentence-words.  When  slightly  over  two  years  of 
age,  he  used  to  weave  little  stories  of  his  own;  e.  g.,  mama  fa  wite 
downy  toppy  houf.  One  day,  while  the  dinner  was  waiting  for  his 
father,  who  was  expected  home  on  the  train,  the  child  said:  Toot- 
toot  corny  wite  up  tair,  iny  doh,  uppy  tdpool;  toot-toot  make  big  noise. 
Another  of  his  sentences  was:  Take  a  badie  bidy  to;  badie  tiehd, 
feepy.  The  boy  C.  uttered  his  first  sentence  in  the  twenty-first 
month:  Pees  mama.  Two  months  earlier  he  had  used  sentence- 
words;  e.g.,  papa  cacker  (papa  has  fire-crackers  ).  In  the  twenty- 
fourth  month  he  told  quite  an  extensive  story,  in  which  the  verbs 
were  not  expressed.  )Even  compound  sentences,  and  sentences 
containing  subordinate  clauses,  are  often  mastered  before  the  close 
of  this  period  (  M  )  (  67 ).  Sometimes  verbal  inflections  appear;  e.  g., 
naughty  baby  kl'ide  (cried)  (26).  Another  day  the  same  child  said 
corned  for  came,  thus  unconsciously  rebuking  the  inconsistent 
English  language.  Interrogative  sentences  appeared  in  another 
case;  e.  g.,  Where's  pussy?  and  negation  was  expressed  by  an 
affirmative  sentence,  with  an  emphatic  no  tacked  on  at  the  end, 
exactly  as  the  deaf-mutes  do.  Many  of  these  primitive  sentences 
are  in  the  imperative  mood,  and  many  are  still  "  sentence-words." 
jMost  children  talk  a  great  deal,  and  gesticulate  profusely,  at  this 
time.  jTheir  expressions  are  concrete,  and  abstract  words  are 
avoided  as  far  as  possible.  A  little  boy,  on  seeing  the  picture  of  a 
half- grown  lad,  spoke  of  it  as  a  little  baby  man  (A).  /Anything  that 
has  rhyme  or  rhythm  is  most  easily  picked  up.  A  little  nephew  of 
my  own  was  able,  at  this  age,  to  sing  a  large  number  of  little  songs 
and  hymns,  giving  the  melody  quite  correctly.  Another  boy,  at 
twenty-one  months,  on  hearing  the  milkman's  bell  in  the  morning, 
used  to  say:  Mik  man  mik  cow,  crump  horn,  toss  dog,  kiss  maid  nil 
florn;  or  peeping  through  the  fence  at  the  cows,  would  sing:  Moo 
cow.  moo  cow,  how-de-do  cow  ( 6J>). 

)The  child's  progress  is  marked  here  by  his  gradual  mastery  of  the 
personal  and  possessive  pronouns.,  frhese  are  peculiarly  difficult 
for  the  average  child,  and,  according  to  Egger,  are  not  usually 
attained  until  near  the  close  of  the  second  year;  according  to 
others,  much  later  still  (thirtieth  month,  according  to  Lindner). 
/Previous  to  mastering  the  J,  the  child  calls  himself  by  his  proper 
'name,  or  by  the  name  baby,  as  he  may  have  been  taught.      When  / 

'See  Romanes'  Mental  Evolution  in  Man,  chap.  8. 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  75 

first  appears,  it  is  frequently  employed, — quite  consistently  from 
the  child's  point  of  view, — not  in  the  first  person,  but  in  the  second; 
i.  e.,  he  calls  others  I  and  himself  you.  One  child  used  the  word  I 
correctly  as  early  as  the  nineteenth  month,  but  often  exchanged 
it  for  her  proper  name  (27).  Another,  in  the  twentieth  month, 
still  called  himself  by  his  proper  name,  but,  a  month  later,  said  me 
for  the  first  time  (  M ).  Another  spoke  of  me  as  a  personality  in  her 
twenty-second  month  ( 16).  Another,  at  two  years,  often  used  the 
word  my,  meaning  your;  e.g.,  let  me  get  up  on  my  lap  (68). 
Another,  at  the  same  age,  still  speaks  of  himself  as  baby  in  ordinary 
converse,  but  in  great  desire  says,  J  want  it,  and  in  great  fear  says, 
I  afraid. 

\  In  some  cases,  almost  all  the  sounds  are  mastered  by  the  end  of 
the  second  year,  but  from  the  obervations  at  hand,  this  may  be 
considered  the  exception.  Most  children  still  have  difficulty  with 
certain  sounds.  Some  of  these  difficulties  are  seen  in  the  follow- 
ing: apoo  (apple),  zhatis  (there  it  is),  es  (yes),  yleg  (egg)  note  diffi- 
culty with  initial  vowel),  oken  (open),  tash  (mustache),  sh'ad 
(thread),  dam  (gum),  Val  (shawl),  uppervator  (elevator),  nobella 
(umbrella),  bannicars  (banisters),  aw  yi  (all  right),  setto  (cellar), 
pato  (potato),  it  da  (sit  there).  One  observer  reports  a  special  diffi- 
culty with  s,z,  d,  g  k,  I,  n,  g,  r  and  t  C20).  Another  says  that  at 
nineteen  months,  the  sounds  s,  sh,  ch  and  j  were  generally  indistinct; 
while  w,  v  and/  were  formed,  but  not  well  developed.  On  the  other 
hand  nasal  g  appeared,  o  was  mastered,  I,  p  and  t  as  final  conso- 
nants began  to  be  used,  and  k  became  a  favorite  sound,  used  in  many 
words.  Sibilants  were  more  at  command  when  final  than  when 
initial,  while  short  a  was  just  beginning  to  be  formed.  In  the 
twenty-second  month  the  sounds  of  ch,  j  and  th  were  still  imper- 
fect, the  hard  sound  of  th  being  replaced  by  s  and  the  soft  sound  by 
2.  A  month  later,  r  was  still  generally  replaced  by  I;  when  s  came 
before  another  consonant,  one  or  the  other  was  dropped,  and  k  was 
sometimes  confused  with  p  or  £  (  26 ).  In  another  case,  the  double 
consonant  sp  made  its  first  appearance  at  the  end  of  the  second 
year  (1). 

There  are  still  many  examples  of  the  inadequate  limitation  of  the 
concept.  In  one  case  the  word  poor,  which  was  learned  as  an  ex- 
pression of  pity,  was  applied  on  occasion  of  any  sort  of  loss  or 
damage  whatsoever,  and  was  even  used  in  speaking  of  a  crooked 
pin.  Dam  (gum),  with  which  toys  were  mended,  became  a  univer- 
sal remedy  for  all  things  broken  or  disabled;  and  afterwards,  when 
the  child  acquired  the  word  shJad  (thread),  broken  things  were 
divided  into  Wo  classes,  viz.,  those  that  were  to  be  mended  with 
dam,  and  those  that  were  to  be  mended  with  sWad  (26).  Behwys,  in 
another  case,  was  at  first  the  name  for  all  small  fruits,  but  after- 
wards became  restricted,  yielding  a  portion  of  its  territory  to  gape 
{grape)  (A).  Another  little  boy  extended  his  word  gee-gee  (horse) 
to  a  drawing  of  an  ostrich,  and  a  bronze  figure  of  a  stork;  and  his 
word  apoo  (apple)  to  a  patch  of  reddish-brown  color  on  the  mantel- 
piece (  M  ),  (69:43).  The  boy  C.  applied  the  word  bake  (broke)  to  a  torn 
pocket-handkerchief;  and  R.  extended  his  word  do  (door)  to  every- 
thing that  stopped  up  an  opening  or  prevented  an  exit,  including 
the  cork  of  a  bottle,  and  the  little  table  that  fastened  him  in  his 
high  chair. 

[Healthy  children  of  two  years  ot  age  will  usually  attempt  all  sorts 
ot  sounds  in  imitation  of  others,  and  will  practice  on  new  and  diffi- 
cult combinations  with  great  perseverance,  sometimes  carrying  the 
word  through  several  stages  of  transition,  until  it  finally  assumes 


76  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

the  perfect  form.  The  boy  A.  first  heard  the  word  pussy  when 
seventeen  months  old;  he  at  once  undertook  to  say  it,  but  called  it 
at  first  pooheh,  then  poofie,  then  poopoohie,  then  poofee,  until  finally, 
after  much  persevering  practice,  he  was  able  to  say  pussy,  when 
he  seemed  to  be  satisfied,  and  discontinued  its  use,  except  when 
pussy  was  in  sight.  Schultze  gives,  among  others,  the  following  ex- 
amples: The  German  word  wasser  passed  through  these  stages, — 
wawaff—fafaff — waffwaff — wasse — wasser;  the  word  grosmama  was 
first  omama,  and  then  dosmama,  before  assuming  its  final  form. 
The  strength  of  the  reduplicating  tendency,  and  the  influence  of 
the  initial  consonant  on  the  remainder  of  the  word,  is  seen  in  the 
following  imitations:  wawa  (Mary),  dudu  (Julia),  ih  ih  ( little j,  ba  ba 
(blanket),  fafa  (faster),  mama  (master),  papa  (pasture),  nana 
(naughty)  C42).1 

I  have  taken  the  trouble  to  collect,  for  purposes  of  comparison, 
a  number  of  vocabularies  of  children,  which  have  been  recorded  by 
careful  and  competent  observers,  with  as  much  completeness  and 
accuracy  as  possible.  I  will  now  give  these  in  summarized  form,  so 
as  to  show  the  relative  frequency  of  the  various  sounds  as  initial, 
and  also  the  relative  frequency  of  the  various  parts  of  speech.  In 
order  the  more  accurately  to  show  the  sounds  actually  made  by  the 
child,  I  have  been  obliged  to  use  an  alphabet  differing  somewhat 
from  the  ordinary  English  alphabet.  The  following  changes  are 
made:  c  is  dropped  out  altogether,  such  words  as  corner,  candy, 
etc.,  being  classed  under  k;  words  like  centre,  cigar,  etc.,  under  s; 
and  words  like  chain,  cheese,  chair,  etc.,  forming  a  new  series  under 
ch.  Words  like  George,  gentleman,  etc.,  are  classed  under  J  instead 
of  G;  words  like  Philip  under  F;  words  like  knife,  knee,  etc.,  under  n; 
and  words  like  torap,  write,  etc.,  under  r.  Other  new  letters  besides 
ch  are  sh  and  th.  In  short,  it  is  sought  to  classify  the  child's  words 
according  to  his  pronunciaton,  and  not  according  to  the  English 
alphabet.  If  he  says  tatie  for  potato,  the  word  is  classed  under  t. 
I  am  convinced  that  this  is  the  only  way  to  obtain  reliable  and 
valuable  results. 

I.  A  child  of  nine  months  is  reported  as  speaking  "  nine  words 
plainly."    The  words  are  not  given  ( 16 ). 

II.  A  boy  at  twelve  months  has  "  four  words  of  his  own  "  ( 16 ). 

III.  A  child  of  twelve  months  uses  ten  words  with  meaning.  Six 
of  these  are  nouns,  two  adjectives  and  two  verbs  (  6  ).  The  initial 
sounds  are  m  (three  times),  p  (four  times),  n,  a  and  k  (each  once). 

I I  cannot  forbear  quoting:  the  following:  from  Sigismund  in  this  connection.  A  child  of 
twenty-one  months  attempted  to  repeat,  line  by  line,  a  piece  of  poetry  after  another 
person  The  first  line  in  each  pair  represents  the  pronunciation  of  the  adult,  the  second 
the  imitation  of  the  child: 

Outer  Mond.  du  gehst  so  stille, 
Tute  Bohnd,  du  tehz  so  tinne. 

Durch  die  abeudwolken  bin, 
l)uch  die  aten-honten  in. 

Gehst  so  trauria:,  und  ich  fiihlo, 
Tehz  so  tautech,  und  ich  btlue. 

Da>is  ich  ohne  Ruhe  bin, 
Da*s  ich  one  Ule  bin. 

(inter  Mond,  du  darl'-t  es  wissen, 
Tute  Bohnd,  du  at/,  ea  bitten. 
Weil  du  so  verschwiegren  bist, 
Bfin  do  so  btettMl  bitz. 
Wrtrum  uieine  Thriinen  tlies>en, 
Ainnm  melue  ttlnen  bieten. 

Uii'i  ineln  Hera  bo  t rating;  1st, 
Uud  mein  At-t/.  no  atich  iz  (1:144). 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  77 

IV.  A  child  of  one  year  used  eight  words,  seven  of  which  were 
nouns,  and  one  an  adverb.  The  initial  sounds  are  b  (four  times),  m, 
p,  d  and  u  (once  each)  (T). 

V.  The  boy  R.  had  at  command  about  twenty  words,  thirteen  of 
which  were  nouns,  and  four  or  five  interjectional  words.  For  initial 
sound  b  was  perf erred,  then  p  and  t . 

VI.  Another  child  is  reported,  at  fifteen  months,  as  having 
"  syllables,  but  no  words  "  ( 16  ). 

VII.  A  girl  of  seventeen  months  is  reported  as  using  thirty- 
five  words,  twenty-two  of  which  are  nouns,  four  verbs,  two  adjec- 
tives, four  adverbs  and  three  interjections.  The  initial  sounds  are 
d  (eight  times),  s  (four),  m,  b  and  ch  (three  each),  p,  t,  k,  a  and  y 
(two  each),  t,  j,  n,  o  (one  each)  (L). 

VIII.  A  girl  of  twenty-two  months  uses  twenty-eight  words,  dis- 
tributed as  follows:  Nouns  sixteen,  verbs  three,  adjectives  three, 
adverbs  and  interjections  five.  The  initial  sounds  are  6  (six  times), 
d  (five),  m  (four),  p  (three),  g,  h  and  k  (two  each),  e,  i,  n  and  o 
(one  each)  (G). 

IX.  A  girl  at  two  years  employs  thirty-six  words,  distributed 
as  follows:  Nouns  sixteen,  adjectives  four,  pronouns  three,  verbs 
seven,  adverbs  three,  interjections  three  (G).  Initial  sounds  are  p 
(five  times),  m,  b  and  w  (each  four  times),  g,  k  and  h  (each  three 
times),  d,  i,  n  and  r  (each  twice),  a  and  o  (each  once). 


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o 

THE  LANGUAGE   OF  CHILDHOOD.  81 

Summarizing  these  vocabularies,  we  find  some  interesting  facts 
bearing  on  language -growth,  both  on  the  physiological  and  on  the 
psychological  side. 

For  example,  with  regard  to  the  relative  frequency  of  the  various 
parts  of  speech,  the  following  table  is  instructive.  Of  the  five 
thousand  four  hundred  words  comprising  these  vocabularies.1 


60 

per 

cent. 

are 

nouns. 

20 

c< 

it 

(< 

verbs. 

9 

ti 

u 

« 

adjectives. 

5 

u 

a 

u 

adverbs. 

2 

(i 

a 

(< 

pronouns. 

2 

a 

a 

u 

prepositions. 

1.7 

t< 

n 

(( 

interjections. 

0.3 

i< 

u 

u 

conjunctions. 

\ 


100.0 

Of  the  nouns,  less  than  one  per  cent,  are  abstract.  Nearly  all  are 
names  of  persons  or  familiar  objects.  The  majority,  in  the  earlier 
months,  seem  to  be  used  almost  with  the  force  of  proper  nouns,  as 
Schultheiss  has  also  observed  ( 75 ).  The  adjectives  are  mostly  those 
of  size,  temperature,  cleanliness  and  its  opposite,  and  similar 
familiar  notions.  This  table  also  corroborates  Sigismund's  observa- 
tion that  the  conjunction  is  especially  difficult  (1:1S5).  Another 
interesting  point  is  the  comparison  of  the  above  table  with  a  similar 
table,  showing  the  relative  frequency  of  the  various  parts  of 
speech  in  ordinary  adult  language.  Professor  Kirkpatrick  says 
that  of  the  words  in  the  English  language, 

60    per  cent,  are  nouns. 
11      "        "        "    verbs. 
22      "       "       "    adjectives. 
5.5  "        "        "    adverbs. 

An  important  consideration  is  involved  here.  If  we  look  only  at 
the  first  of  these  two  tables,  and  consider  the  child's  words  by 
themselves,  it  will  seem  that  the  nouns  have  greatly  the  advantage 
over  the  other  parts  of  speech.  But  such  a  conclusion  obviously 
cannot  be  drawn,  unless  a  comparison  of  the  child's  vocabulary 
with  that  of  the  adult  justifies  us  in  so  doing.  In  order  to  show 
that  the  child  learns  nouns  more  easily  than  verbs,  we  must  be  able 
to  show  that  the  number  of  his  nouns  bears  a  larger  proportion  to 
the  number  of  nouns  he  will  use  as  an  adult,  than  the  number  of 
his  verbs  bears  to  the  number  of  verbs  he  will  use  in  adult  life.  To 
represent  the  matter  symbolically, 

Let     n  =  the  proportion  of  nouns  in  the  child's  vocabulary. 


And 

N  = 

u 

« 

u        it          u 

(C 

man's 

(i 

Let 

v  = 

(4 

u 

"  verbs  " 

<« 

child's 

(< 

And 

V  = 

(( 

M 

U          <(             u 

« 

man's 

Cf 

Then,  if  the  child  learns  nouns  more  easily  than  verbs,  the 
proportion  of  n  to  N  will  be  greater  than  that  of  v  to  V.  But  on 
comparing  the  two  tables,  the  very  opposite  is  found  to  be  the  case. 

*In  all  the  calculations  that  follow,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  include,  along  with 
my  own  vocabularies,  those  of  Professor  Holden  ( 68 ) ,  and  Professor  Humphreys  ( W ) , 
which  I  have  re-arranged  phonetically  for  the  purpose. 


\ 


82  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

„        n  60 

For    IT    -    lo     =    1 

v  20 

But     -y-     =     -jj-    =     1.81+ 

In  other  words,  the  child  of  two  years  has  made  nearly  twice  as 
much  progress  in  learning  to  use  verbs  as  in  learning  to  use  nouns; 
according  to  my  tables  of  child -language  and  Professor  Kirk- 
patrick's  table  of  adult-language.  A  comparison  of  the  adjectives 
and  adverbs  in  the  two  tables  justifies  a  similar  conclusion  in  favor 
of  the  adverb.  To  my  mind,  this  fact — which,  so  far  as  I  know,  has 
been  hitherto  overlooked  by  all  writers  on  child -language — possesses 
great  value  for  philology  and  pedagogy  as  well  as  for  psychology. 
In  the  first  place  it  supports  the  view  that  the  acquisition  of 
language  in  the  individual  and  in  the  race  proceeds  by  similar  stages 
and  along  similar  fines.  Max  Miiller  says  that  the  primitive 
Sanscrit  roots  of  the  Indo-Germanic  languages  all  represent  actions 
and  not  objects;  that  in  the  race  the  earliest  ideas  to  assume  such 
strength  and  vividness  as  to  break  out  beyond  the  limits  of  gesture 
and  clothe  themselves  in  words  are  ideas  of  movement,  activity. 
We  have  found;  from  examination  of  the  vocabularies  of  these 
twenty-five  children,  that  the  ideas  which  are  of  greatest 
importance  in  the  infant  mind,  and  so  clothe  themselves  most- 
frequently  (relatively),  in  words,  are  the  ideas  of  actions  and  not 
objects,  of  doing  instead  of  being.  The  child  learns  to  use  action- 
words  (verbs)  more  readily  than  object-words  (nouns);  and  words 
descriptive  of  actions  (adverbs)  more  readily  than  words  descriptive 
of  objects  (adjectives). 

In  the  second  place  this  fact  confirms  the  Froebelian  principle,  on 
which  child-education  is  coming  more  and  more  to  be  based,  viz., 
that  education  proceeds  most  naturally  (and,  therefore,  most  easily 
and  rapidly)  along  the  line  of  motor  activity.  The  child  should  not 
be  so  much  the  receptacle  of  instruction  as  the  agent  of  investiga- 
tion. Let  him  do  things,  and  by  doing  he  will  most  readily  learn. 
He  should  not  be  passive,  but  active  in  his  own  education.  The 
kindergarten  is  the  modern  incarnation  of  this  idea,  but  the  idea 
itself  is  as  old  as  Aristotle,  who  says,  "  We  learn  an  art  by  doing 
that  which  we  wish  to  do  when  we  have  learned  it;  we  become 
builders  by  building,  and  harpers  by  harping.  And  so  by  doing 
just  acts  we  become  just,  and  by  doing  acts  of  temperance  and 
courage  we  become  temperate  and  courageous."1 

Turning  now  to  the  consideration  of  these  vocabularies  from  the 
standpoint  of  ease  or  difficulty  of  pronunciation  of  the  various  simple 
sounds,  we  find  some  instructive  data  here  also.  The  following 
table  shows  the  relative  frequency  of  the  various  sounds  as  initial. 
In  this  calculation  no  heed  is  paid  to  the  English  spelling  of  the 
words,  but  only  to  the  sounds  actually  uttered  by  the  child,  as 
already  pointed  out.     Of  the  five  thousand  four  hundred  words 

11.    per  cent,  begin  with  the  sound  of  b. 


10.3 

(i 

(( 

u 

It          I 

i           a 

"  s. 

9. 

u 

(( 

u 

U              I 

t           u 

"    fc. 

8. 

({ 

(I 

(( 

U              ( 

(           (i 

"  t 

6.1 

(( 

u 

!( 

(I          ( 

(           (( 

6. 

It 

(1 

(( 

((          ( 

i           a 

11  d. 

6. 

u 

u 

u 

II          I 

i           a 

"  m. 

»Eth.  Nic,  Bk.  II.  chap.  1,  par.  4. 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD. 


83 


6. 

per 

cent,  be 

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A  glance  at  this  table  shows  how  prominent  a  place  the  explosive 
consonants  occupy  as  initial  sounds  in  child- language.  The  vowels, 
on  the  contrary,  though  undoubtedly  the  earliest  sounds  to  be  used 
in  most  cases,  are  very  infrequent  as  initial,  not  only  absolutely 
but  relatively.  In  the  English  dictionaries  the  vowel  a  occupies 
fourth  place  as  initial  letter  C66),  C68);  in  my  tables  it  occupies 
fourteenth  place ;  while  the  other  vowels  stand  still  lower.  The 
reason  of  this  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  is  simply  a  case  of  the  opera- 
tion of  the  law  of  physiological  ease;  as  anyone  may  verify  by 
pronouncing,  in  succession,  the  following  syllables:  ap,  pa,  ab,  ba, 
ak,  ka,  am,  ma,  ad,  da;  and  observing  how  much  more  easily  those 
syllables  are  pronounced  in  which  the  consonant  leads  and  the 
vowel  follows. 

Another  interesting  feature  of  this  table  is  the  high  place  occupied 
by  the  guttural  fc  as  initial  sound.  It  stands  above  p  and  m,  and 
next  to  s  and  b.  This  fact  does  not  bear  out  the  theory  propounded 
by  several  writers  on  child-language,  that  those  sounds  are 
selected  by  the  child  for  earliest  acquirement  whose  pronunciation 
involves  those  portions  of  the  vocal  apparatus  which  are  most 
easily  seen,  such  as  the  lips  C66),  (76).  According  to  this  theory, 
not  only  the  labial  p,  but  the  sounds  d,  m,  f,  sh,  th,  etc.,  ought 
to  stand  high  in  the  list,  because  the  movements  involved  in  their 
pronunciation  are  plainly  visible;  while  the  guttural  fc,  whose 
movements  are  absolutely  out  of  sight,  should  stand  very  low.  The 
contrary  is  the  case;  fc  stands  third  in  the  list  of  initial  sounds, 
while  th,  whose  movements  are  exceedingly  obvious  to  sight, 
occupies  the  eighteenth  place.  This  seems  to  prove  that  the  child 
does  not  learn  to  utter  sounds  by  watching  the  mouths  of  those  who 
utter  them  in  his  presence ;  and  this  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the 
observation  of  Schultze,  that  the  child  does  not  usually  look  at  the 
mouth,  but  at  the  eyes  of  the  person  speaking  to  him.  On  the  other 
hand  there  seems  no  sufficient  ground  for  the  statement  that  the 
law  of  least  effort  is  overturned  by  this  frequency  of  the  sound  of  fc. 
This  guttural  sound  is,  for  most  children,  no  more  difficult  than  the 
labials.  Often  it  is  one  of  the  very  earliest  sounds  employed.  I 
know  one  child  with  whom  it  is  more  frequently  used  than  even  b. 
In  short,  so  far  as  my  observations  go,  I  have  no  hesitation  in 
saying  that  the  child's  earliest  vocal  utterances  are  not  acquired 


84 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 


by  imitation  at  all,  either  of  sound  or  of  movement,  but  that  they 
are  purely  impulsive  in  their  character.  They  are  simply  the  result 
of  the  overflow  of  motor  energy,  which  we  have  seen  so  promi- 
nent in  other  departments  of  the  child's  life;  and  they  proceed 
at  first  along  the  lines  of  least  resistance. 

In  the  following  tables  I  have  given  the  results  of  a  careful 
examination  of  seven  hundred  instances  of  mispronunciation 
which  I  have  found  in  the  above  vocabularies.  The  first  table 
shows  the  various  sounds  in  the  order  of  the  number  of  times  they 
are  misused  as  well  as  the  ways  in  which  they  are  misused;  the 
second  and  third  tables  enter  into  more  detail. 

In  the  following  table  the  first  column  gives  the  sound  misused; 
the  second  shows  the  number  of  times  it  is  replaced  by  another 
sound;  the  third  shows  how  often  it  is  dropped,  without  being 
replaced;  and  the  fourth  shows  how  often  it  is  brought  into  a  word 
to  which  it  does  not  belong  (not  as  a  substitute  for  some  other 
sound,  but  as  a  pure  interpolation,  for  no  apparent  reason). 


Sound  Misused. 

Replaced. 

Dropped. 

Interpolated. 

Total. 

R. 

51 

87 

4 

142 

L. 

35 

70 

105 

S. 

25 

34 

1 

60 

G. 

25 

6 

31 

T. 

13 

17 

1 

31 

Sh. 

26 

4 

30 

K. 

20 

8 

28 

Th  (hard). 

21 

2 

23 

F. 

15 

4 

1 

20 

D. 

5 

12 

2 

19 

Th  (soft). 

14 

4 

18 

Ng. 

15 

15 

N. 

7 

7 

1 

15 

W. 

7 

5 

3 

15 

Ch. 

13 

13 

Y. 

1 

10 

1 

12 

V. 

8 

2 

10 

E. 

2 

5 

7 

H. 

2 

5 

7 

J. 

5 

5 

P. 

4 

1 

5 

A. 

4 

4 

M. 

4 

4 

Wh. 

3 

3 

0. 

3 

3 

B. 

3 

3 

Z. 

1 

1 

2 

Q- 

1 

1 

THE  LANGUAGE  OF  CHILDHOOD. 


85 


The  following  table  shows  the  relative  frequency  of  replacement  of 
the  sounds  when  initial,  medial  and  final,  and  also  (in  the  case  of  the 
consonants)  when  occurring  as  one  member  of  a  double  consonant 
(e.  g.,  as  r  in  cream).  It  also  gives  the  relative  frequency  of  the  substi- 
tuted sounds : 


Sound 

When 

When 

When 

When 

Replaced 

Replaced. 

Initial. 

Medial. 

Final. 

Double. 

by. 

Times. 

Examples. 

W 

1 

29 
6 

kweem  (cream), 
tommolla  (tomorrow). 

R. 

21 

21 

9 

4 

y 

e 

V 

t 
m 

P 
k 

3 

8 
1 
1 
1 
1 
1 

allyite      (all  right), 
tumblie    (tumbler), 
voom        (room), 
tautech    (traurig). 
pipe          (ripe). 
Kaka         (Carrie). 

L. 

8 

8 

19 

e 

9 

minnie      (milk). 

3 

w 

u 

n 

t 

b 

d 

oo 

7 
7 
4 
3 
2 
2 
1 

tabie         (table), 
singu         (shingle), 
setta         (celery), 
bampe       (lampe). 
degen       (legen). 
apoo          (apple). 

Sh. 

17 

2 

7 

s 
h 
b 
t 
n 

19 
4 
1 
1 
1 

fis              (fish). 
hSogar      (sugar). 
tooz           (shoes). 

S. 

18 

4 

3 

6 

t 
h 
f 
b 
d 

8 
8 
3 
3 
3 

tweet        (sweet). 
hlate         (slate). 
poofee      (pussy). 
dlde           (side). 

G. 

19 

5 

1 

4 

d 
k 
t 
b 
w 

j 

n 

17 
2 
2 
1 
1 
1 
1 

dass           (glass). 
hookoo     (sugar), 
toss           (gross). 
bavy         (gravy). 
dettin       (getting). 

Th(h«d). 

11 

3 

7 

5 

f 

t 

s 

P 
d 

n 

r 

10 
4 
3 

1 
1 

1 
1 

free.          (three) 
mous         (mouth), 
tank          (thank), 
harf           (hearth), 
nuppin      (nothing). 

86 


THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 


Sound 
Replaced. 

When 
Initial. 

When 
Medial. 

When 
Final. 

When 
Double. 

Replaced 
by. 

Times. 

Examples. 

K 

11 

7 

2 

7 

t 

s 

g 

d 

15 
2 
2 
1 

bastet        (basket), 
sun             (come). 
untie         (uncle), 
tanny        (candy). 

F. 

7 

4 

4 

2 

P 

s 
k 

t 

6 
5 
2 
2 

nup            (enough), 
buttersy   (butterfly), 
kork          (fork), 
ot               (off). 

Ng. 

5 

10 

1 

n 
e 
a 

12 

2 

1 

finner        (finger), 
tockies      (stockings), 
lockatair  (rocking  chair)] 

Th  (soft). 

11 

3 

d 
m 

13 

1 

altogedder  (altogether), 
dare          (there). 

T. 

6 

7 

e 

k 

w 

g 

P 

6 
4 
1 
1 
1 

dockie       (doctor), 
bankie       (blanket), 
jackie        (jacket), 
coak          (coat). 
wawer       (water). 

Ch. 

9 

2 

2 

1 

s 

t 

sh 

7 
4 
2 

sair            (chair), 
tillens        (children), 
shick         (chick). 

V. 

1 

5 

2 

b 
f 
d 

5 
2 
1 

gib             (give), 
shufer       (shovel). 
Dadie        (David). 

N. 

1 

6 

e 

m 

1 

4 
2 

1 

buttie        (button), 
pirn            (pin), 
lemolade  (lemonade). 

W. 

6 

1 

V 

1 

6 
1 

go  vay      (go  away), 
lalla           (water). 

D. 

1 

4 

n 

t 
k 

2 
2 
1 

towntownt  (down  town), 
vinner       (window), 
kankie       (candy). 

J. 

4 

1 

d 
g 

4 

1 

demidon   (demijohn). 
Gekkie      (Jessie). 

P. 

3 

1 

1 

b 

t 

2 
2 

bee            (please), 
patie         (paper). 

M. 

2 

2 

k 
n 
w 

2 
1 
1 

hankie       (hammer). 
Waggie     (Maggie). 

THE   LANGUAGE   OF  CHILDHOOD. 


87 


Sound 
Replaced. 

When 
Initial. 

When 
Medial. 

When 
Final. 

When 
Double. 

Replaced 

Times. 

Examples. 

Wh. 

3 

f 
h 

2 
1 

feel            (wheel), 
haiah         (where). 

0. 

3 

a 

e 

2 
1 

winna        (window). 

B. 

1 

2 

d 
m 

2 

1 

badie         (baby). 
Milly         (Billy). 

E. 

2 

a 
oo 

1 
1 

vera          (very). 
cookoo      (cookie). 

H. 

1 

1 

t 
1 

1 
1 

torns         (horns), 
la  lo           (la  haut) 

Y. 

1 

e 

1 

bewo         (bureau). 

Z. 

1 

d 

1 

Doderfeen  (Josephine). 

Q- 

1 

k 

1 

skeeze       (squeeze). 

The  following  table  gives  similar  information  with  regard  to  the 
dropping  of  difficult  sounds : 


Sound 
Dropped. 


R. 


L. 


T. 

D. 

Y. 
K. 

N. 

G. 
W. 

E. 


When 
Initial. 


H. 

5 

Sh. 

4 

F. 

Th  (soft). 

3 

A. 

4 

Th  (hard). 

V. 

1 

P. 

1 

Z. 

10 


27 


6 
4 


6 
5 


When 
Medial. 


61 


37 


4 
2 


3 
1 


When 
Final. 


24 


23 


2 
1 


When 
Double. 


50 


39 


30 


12 


Examples. 


each  (reach), 

apicot  (apricot), 

dotta  (daughter), 

baselet  (bracelet). 

etta  be  (let  me  be), 

peeze  (please). 

fa  (fall), 

buttafy  (butterfly). 

poon  (spoon). 

Bottie  (Boston), 

ga  (gas), 

tabewie  (strawberry). 

dissance  (distance), 

bonny  (bonnet), 

sottin  (stocking). 

sanny  (sandy), 

gamma  (grandma), 

bines  (blinds). 


ard 
panna 


(yard), 
(piano). 


opf  (kopf ) . 

basset       (basket), 
boo  (book). 


Pi 

burr 


(pin), 
(burn). 


atten        (garten). 


ont 

oodn't 

nuff 
koff 

eah 
litta 


(want), 
(wouldn't). 

(enough), 
(coffee). 

(here), 
(schlitten). 


satie  pin  (safety  pin), 
natanoon  (afternoon) . 

at  (that). 

ober  air    (over  there). 


fade 
uudda 

(afraid), 
(another). 

ba 
mao 

(bath), 
(mouth). 

ammiiiii 
Duttie 

(warum). 
(Gustave). 

tatie 

(potato). 

no 

(nose). 

THE   LANGUAGE   OF   CHILDHOOD.  89 

A  word  of  caution  is  perhaps  necessary  here.  These  tables  do 
not  show  accurately  the  order  of  difficulty  of  the  various  sounds, 
inasmuch  as  they  indicate  the  misuse  of  the  sounds,  not  relatively 
to  the  number  of  correct  pronunciations  of  each  sound,  but  only 
relatively  to  the  total  number  of  mispronunciations.  For  example, 
in  the  first  table  q  seems  an  easier  sound  than  6,  because  it  is  only 
misused  once,  while  6  is  misused  three  times.  But  if  we  remember 
that  in  the  vocabularies  6  occurs  fifty-five  times  as  often  as  q,  the 
case  is  entirely  altered.  Considered  in  this  way,  the  order  of 
difficulty,  according  to  my  observations,  is  approximately  the 
following  :  r,  I,  th,  v,  sh,  y,  g,  ch,  8,  j,  e,  f,  t,  n,  q,  d,  k,  o,  w,  a,  h,  m, 
p,  b.     The  most  difficult  sound  is  r  and  the  easiest  b. 

It  will  be  observed  also  that,  according  to  these  tables,  mispro- 
nunciation is  very  frequent  in  the  case  of  double  consonants,  and 
most  frequent  of  all  in  those  combinations  which  belong  to  what 
Mr.  Pitman  calls  the  pi  and  pr  series.  Such  words  as  cream, 
bracelet  and  fly  are  almost  always  mutilated;  sometimes  r  and  I  are 
replaced  by  w  or  some  other  sound;  sometimes  they  are  omitted 
altogether. 

Another  thing  to  be  observed  is  that  the  choice  of  a  substitute 
for  a  difficult  sound  is  often  determined  by  the  prominent  conso- 
nant in  the  preceding  or  succeeding  syllable.  This  leads  to  a 
reduplication  of  the  easier  sound  in  preference  to  the  use  of  the 
more  difficult  one.  The  child  says  cawkee  for  coffee,  kork  for  fork, 
or  la  lo  for  la  haut.  The  number  of  these  reduplications  is  very 
large,  and  the  device  is  adopted  also  in  the  case  of  difficult  vowels; 
e.  g.,  Deedie  occurs  for  Edie,  and  Dida  for  Ida. 

Another  significant  thing  is  the  frequency  with  which  the  sound 
of  e  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  difficult  sounds,  both  vowel  and 
consonantal,  especially  at  the  end  of  a  word.  The  child  says  ittie 
for  little,  finnie  for  finger,  and  ninnie  for  drink. 

In  addition  to  the  mispronunciations  tabulated  above,  I  find  a 
large  number  of  miscellaneous  mispronunciations  difficult  to 
classify,  such  as  the  following  :  medniss  for  medicine,  Mangie  fag 
for  American  flag,  skoogie  for  excuse  me,  kidlie  for  tickle,  pd-td-soo 
for  patent  leather  shoes,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

If  we  seek  now  to  discover  some  principle  underlying  the  develop- 
ment of  child-speech  from  the  psychic  point  of  view,  we  shall  find, 
I  believe,  that  principle  of  transformation,  which  we  have  already 
observed  so  frequently  elsewhere,  operating  in  this  sphere  also. 
The  earliest  utterances  of  the  new-born  have  little  or  no  psychic 
significance.  As  expressions  of  his  thought,  they  have  none  at  all. 
But  by  slow  degrees  these  primitive  utterances,  modified,  increased 
and  combined,  are  associated  with  ideas,  which  are  also  modified, 
increased  and  combined,  until  finally  the  instrument  of  language  is 
completely  under  control,  and  becomes  the  adequate  medium  for 
the  expression  of  thought. 

Not  only  may  we  make  this  statement  in  this  general  way,  but  it 
seems  possible  to  trace,  with  approximate  minuteness,  the  progress 
of  a  sound  upward,  from  the  earliest  unexpressive  condition  to  the 
highest,  latest,  most  expressive  state,  and  to  indicate  the  principal 
stages  on  the  way.  These  stages  appear  to  be  the  same  as  those 
through  which  movements  pass,  viz.,  the  impulsive,  the  reflex,  the 
instinctive,  and  the  ideational.  The  first  sounds  uttered  by  the  child 
are  simply  the  spontaneous  will-less,  idea-less  manifestation  of 
native  motor  energy.  They  do  not  require  a  sensory,  but  only  a 
motor  process,  and  that  motor  process  is  automatic.  The  same 
overflowing  energy,  the  same  muscle-instinct,  which  impels  the 
child  to  grasp  with  the  hands,  to  kick  with  the  feet,  etc.,  impels 


90  THE   PSYCHOLOGY   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

him  also  to  the  exercise  of  his  lips,  tongue,  larynx  and  lungs  (  59:  *" ). 
This  is  the  impulsive  stage.  Then  we  find  him  uttering  sounds  in 
response  to  certain  sensations.  He  sees  a  bright  light,  hears  a 
peculiar  sound,  feels  a  soft,  warm  touch,  and  these  sensations  call 
forth  certain  sounds.  These  sounds  are  still  only  babblings,  not 
involving  the  cooperation  of  will,  but  they  do  involve  sensory  as 
well  as  motor  processes.  The  reflex  arc,  in  its  simplest  form,  is 
complete.  Here  imitation  takes  its  rise.  This  is  the  reflexive  stage. 
In  the  next  place  we  can  detect  certain  sounds  which  are  expressive 
of  the  child's  needs,  and  though  still  uttered  probably  without 
conscious  intention,  yet  have  a  purpose  and  an  end,  viz.,  the  satis- 
faction of  those  needs.  The  cry,  which  was  at  first  monotonous 
and  expressionless,  now  becomes  differentiated  to  express  various 
states  of  feeling,  hunger,  pain,  weariness,  etc.  Here  we  have  the 
instinctive  stage.  Finally  the  will  takes  full  possession  of  the 
apparatus  of  speech,  the  child  utters  his  words  with  conscious 
intention;  imitation  of  sounds,  from  being  passive  and  unconscious, 
becomes  active  and  conscious;  and  words  are  joined  together  to 
give  expression  to  ideas  of  constantly  increasing  complexity.  Here 
we  have  reached  the  ideational  or  deliberative  stage. 

As  an  example  of  the  transformation  of  a  single  sound  through 
all  these  successive  stages,  let  us  take  that  sound  which  is,  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  the  first  articulation,  the  syllable  ma.  At  first 
this  is  pure  spontaneity.  The  child  lies  contentedly  in  his  cradle, 
motor  energy  overflows,  the  lips  move,  gently  opening  and  closing, 
while  the  breath  is  expired,  and  this  sound  is  produced,  mamamama. 
As  yet  it  has  no  meaning;  it  is  a  purely  automatic  utterance.  But 
by  and  by  the  same  sound  is  called  forth  by  certain  sensations,  one 
of  which  is  very  probably  the  sight  of  the  mother,  or  of  some  other 
person.  The  word  as  yet  has  no  definite  meaning,  but  is  merely  a 
sort  of  vague  demonstrative  ejaculation,  a  pure  reflex.  Later  it 
becomes  the  expression  of  certain  bodily  needs  and  conditions,  and 
now  the  hungry  child  utters  this  sound  as  the  expression  of  the 
need  of  his  natural  nourishment.  By  this  means,  the  word 
becomes  firmly  associated  with  the  mother,  first  probably  with  the 
breast  only  ( 70),  but  afterwards  with  her  person  in  general,  and  so 
the  final  step  in  the  transition  is  made,  and  the  word  mama  now 
passes  out  of  the  semi-conscious,  instinctive  stage  into  the  idea- 
tional. It  becomes  firmly  associated  with  the  mother,  and  with  her 
only,  it  is  used  with  a  conscious  purpose  of  communicating  to  her 
the  child's  wishes  and  ideas  and,  finally,  in  her  absence,  it  is  used 
in  such  a  way  as  to  show  that  her  image  is  firmly  stamped  on  his 
mind,  and  retained  in  his  memory.  In  later  fife,  more  abstract  and 
complex  applications  of  this  word  are  gradually  mastered;  but  we 
have  followed  it  far  enough  in  its  development  for  our  present 

Surpose.  This  word  was  chosen  because  it  probably  exemplifies 
etter  than  any  other  the  principle  which  we  desired  to  illustrate, 
being  associated  with  those  feelings  which  arise  earliest,  last 
longest,  and  take  the  deepest  hold  upon  the  human  soul;  but  almost 
any  primitive  utterance  of  infancy  could  be  employed  to  exemplify, 
in  a  less  complete  manner,  the  principle  enunciated. 

A.  A  little  Boston  boy,  whose  mental  development  was  observed 
and  recorded  by  Miss  Sara  E.  Wiltse. 

B.  Observations  made  by  Professor  J.  M.  Baldwin,  of  the 
University  of  Toronto,  at  whose  suggestion  the  present  work  was 
undertaken. 

C.  A  little  Vermont  boy,  whose  mother,  a  graduate  of  Smith 
College,  made  a  very  careful  record  of  his  mental  development. 


THE   LANGUAGE   OF  CHILDHOOD.  91 

D.  Vocabulary  kindly  sent  me  by  Professor  H.  H.  Donaldson,  of 
the  University  of  Chicago. 

E.  Observations  made  by  a  student  of  Wellesley  College. 

VF.  A  little  girl  in  Worcester,  Mass.,  whom  I  observed  for  some 
time,  and  from  whose  parents  I  received  some  valuable  notes. 

G.  Two  little  girls  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  aged  respectively 
twenty- four  and  twenty- two  months.  Observations  made  by  their 
mother. 

K.  Observations  kindly  sent  me  by  Professor  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick, 
of  Winona,  Minnesota. 

L.  A  girl  in  North  Carolina,  aged  seventeen  months.  Notes 
taken  by  her  mother. 

M.  Observations  made  by  Professor  and  Mrs.  J.  F.  McCurdy, 
of  the  University  of  Toronto. 

R.  A  strong,  healthy  Canadian  boy,  whom  I  observed  during  a 
large  part  of  his  second  year. 

S.    Notes  on  a  little  girl  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  sent  me  by  her  father. 

T.    A  little  boy  in  Boston.    Vocabulary  recorded  by  his  mother. 

W.  A  little  girl  in  Worcester  whose  development  was  recorded 
by  her  mother. 

Y.  References  to  the  lectures  of  the  late  Professor  G.  P.  Young, 
on  Philosophy  and  Psychology,  delivered  in  the  University  of 
Toronto,  but  as  yet  unpublished. 

1.  Sigismund,  B.    "Kind  und  Welt."    Braunschweig,  1856. 

2.  Preyer,  W.  "  The  Senses  and  the  Will."  Parti,  of  "The 
Mind  of  the  Child."    Translated,  H.  W.  Brown.    New  York,  1889. 

i  3.  Pbeyeb,  W.  "The  Development  of  the  Intellect."  Part  II.  of 
"  The  Mind  of  the  Child."  Translated,  H.  W.  Brown.  New  York, 
1889. 

4.  Luys,  J.  "The  Brain  and  its  Functions."  International 
Scientific  Series.    New  York,  1882. 

5.  Kussmaul,  A.  "  Untersuchungen  uber  das  Seelenleben  des 
Neugeborenen  Menschen."    Tubingen,  1884. 

*  6.  Pebez,  B.  "  The  First  Three  Years  of  Childhood."  Trans- 
lated by  Alice  M.  Christie.    London,  1889. 

7.  Fehling,  H.     "DasDasein  vor  der  Geburt."    Stuttgart,  1887. 

8.  Quain's  "  Anatomy,"  Vol.  II.    London,  1882. 

9.  Genzmee,  A.  "Untersuchungen  iiber  die  Sinneswahrneh- 
mungen  des  Neugeborenen  Menschen."    Halle,  1882. 

10.  Preyer,  W.     "  Physiologie  des  Embryo."    Leipzig,  1885. 

11.  Darwin,  Chas.  "  Biographical  Sketch  of  an  Infant."  Mind, 
Vol.  II.  p.  285. 

12.  Tiedemann.  "  Record  of  Infant  Life."  Translated,  Perez. 
Syracuse. 

13.  Sully,  Jas.  "  Babies  and  Science."  Cornhill  Magazine, 
May,  1881. 

14.  Champneys.  "  Notes  on  an  Infant."  In  Mind.  Vol.  VI.  p. 
104. 

y,     15.    Baldwin,  J.  M.     "Origin  of  Right  and  Left-handedness." 
Science,  October  31,  1890. 

16.  Talbot,  Mrs.  E.  "  Papers  on  Infant  Development."  Pub- 
lished by  the  education  department  of  the  American  Social 
Science  Association.    Boston,  1882. 

17.  Kroner,  T.  "  Ueber  die  Sinnesempfindungen  der  Neugebor- 
nen."    Breslau,  1882. 

18.  Raehlmann,  E.  "  Physiologisch — psychologische  Studien 
liber  die  Entwickelung  der  Gesichts — wahrnenumgen  bei  Kindern 


92  THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  CHILDHOOD. 

und  bei  operierten  Blindgeborenen."  In  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Psycholo- 
gie  und  Physiologie  der  Sinnesorgane,  Vol.11.  (1891),  pp.  53-96. 

19.  Brown,  Elizabeth  Stow,  M.  D.  "The  Baby's  Mind." 
"  Studies  in  Infant  Psychology."  Read  before  the  New  York 
Academy  of  Anthropology,  April,  1889.  Published  in  Babyhood, 
July-November,  1890. 

20.  Chaille,  S.  E.,  M.  D.  "  Infants,  their  Chronological  Pi-og- 
ress."    New  Orleans  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  June,  1887. 

21.  Ribot,  Th.     "Heredity."     New  York,  1889. 

22.  Allen,  Grant,  B.  A.  "The  Color-Sense:  Its  Origin  and 
Development."    London  :   Trubner  &  Co.,  1879. 

23.  Wolfe,  H.  K.  "On  the  Color-Vocabulary  of  Children." 
Nebraska  University  Studies,  July,  1890,  pp.  205-234. 

24.  Binet,  A.  "  Perceptions  d'Enfants."  In  Revue  Philosophique, 
December,  1890. 

25.  Perez,  B.    "Education  Morale  des  le  Berceau."    Paris,  1888. 

26.  Pollock,  F.  "An  Infant's  Progress  in  Language."  Mind, 
Vol.  III.  p.  392. 

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F.  Tracy,  Fellow  in  Clark  University. 


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